Ma! He's makin' eyes at me!
by Maeniel
Summary: KuramaPOV. We got a case. It’s not what we expected, and we’re less than pleased. To top it off, Hiei’s personality has taken a turn for the worse. Between Hiei’s extracurricular reading and this other demon’s perverse habits, I think I might just go mad.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho. Just in case anyone out there actually thought I did.

Notes: Prologues arefun. Doesn't have much relevance until the end of the story though. Kurama's POV.

Warnings: This is Shounen ai (albeit very mild). That is, this story involves a homosexual relationship involving two of the main characters. If that's not your thing, you may want to find another story to read. If you do like it, or if you don't care one way or the other, hop on in.

Otherwise, no notes for now. Onward!

Prologue

There's a certain sense of vanity which dwells within a beautiful creature. It really cannot be helped. To be completely oblivious of ones own looks is to be alone in a world without reflective surfaces.

Take the girl who sits behind me in my homeroom class—Miki or Mayo… or something. She's gorgeous. Her hair is long, brown, wavy, and kept in perfect condition. She needs glasses, but she took to wearing contacts years ago. Before that, you never would have known here eyes were blue. Her face holds an innocent beauty that makes half the guys in this school trip over their own feet just to get a look at her. So she's tall, thin, her bra size highly impressive, and struts about this school like a supermodel.

Not a day goes by when someone does not comment on how stunning she looks. As if she does not know that. She certainly checks herself enough in that mirror she hides in her pencil case. It could be marked as insecurity that she maintains such a perfect appearance. Of course, there is nearly always doubt in the heart, no matter how lovely a person may be. She would not check herself so often if she was positive she looked fabulous. If she was so confident, she would not go through so many boyfriends. Little-known rumors state she's a bit of a hussy, but I argue I know nothing of that. Not only is it none of my business, but it could do a great deal of damage to my own reputation to say anything on the matter.

Not that I'm worried about my reputation.

Vanity has its uses. One without it would be very lonely in a material world such as this. To take pride in oneself is not a shame-worthy act. Awareness of appearance is important. The first thing a person sees when they meet someone new is their face. So cleanliness is important. Then, hair must be in proper array lest the newly met acquaintance think you louse-ridden. Clothes cannot be neglected any more than hygiene. Proper attire (along with appropriate charm) makes for success. All taken into account, the first impression is made. Whether it be for an interview or talking to a girl at a bar, a good first impression can mean scoring the job or gaining a night in the girl's bed.

Not that I would ever encourage such debauchery.

It seems a mere justification. However, when one lives a life very similar to Mina (or was it Makoto?), it becomes a necessity. If not for vanity, many of us would not have advanced to where we sit today.

TBC...

Notes: Story title equals title of old song. Anyone heard of it? I heard it while working on a play called "Dirty Work at the Crossroads" 'Twas fun.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: See prologue.

Notes: Okay. Actual plot starting now. I hope people enjoy. It's supposed to be cute and kind of funny. We'll see how successful I was. Oh, and if formatting is a little odd, sorry. The site doesn't like my breaks. If anyone knows how to insert them, tell me please. I'm annoyed. For now, big spaces equal breaks. Wait. Site deletes those too. I am snarling. Quietly. Everyone else is asleep. Okaaaaaay.

(stuff)- This means there's a break. A time gap or a subject change. Pleeeeeeease someone help me fix this. I know it can be done.

Chapter 1

"Are you even listening?"

That was Kuwabara. By some twist of fate we wound up together that evening. We were, of all things, staking out a potential criminal. I was apprehensive from the start. The last time I 'staked out' for anything was when I was learning the guard shifts for a castle. It was a tedious task to say the least. No one should have to endure it outside of their own free will. I wanted the goods in that castle, so I did it. Now, none of us particularly cared about this apparently law-abiding youkai citizen, and yet here we were, watching his every waking movement. He was a very boring individual.

As a matter of fact, I was not listening to Kuwabara's prattle. I had long ago learned that much of what Kuwabara said he later repeated, and much of it involved puffing and bragging. And when he set on the topic of Yukina it became a matter of sanity. Don't get me wrong. Kuwabara's a great guy. I would lay down my life for—okay, maybe not, but it's nothing against him. I know he would lay his life down for me. That's a strictly human attribute. Yusuke is like that as well. Come to think of it, Hiei is becoming more and more like that. And he accuses _me_ of spending too much time among humans.

"Sorry. I thought I heard something."

"Alley cat," Kuwabara said knowingly. Indeed, earlier we had heard the sharp yowl of a stray cat. So I nodded in agreement. No need to let Kuwabara know I was pacifying him. He started talking again. Back on Yukina. I promptly tuned him out.

We had been assigned night duty. There were many reasons behind the methods of this assignment. One: pairs. Koenma did not want us working alone for the obvious reason that greater numbers were safer. Two people could watch each others' backs. Although Kuwabara's observational skills were often lacking, so I was not keen on trusting my back to him. But… he often surprised me.

Two: Yusuke with Hiei, Kuwabara with me. I couldn't say I was not resentful. Usually I paired off with Hiei. We operated well together. But it was decided that we would split differently this time. (Now when I say 'it was decided' I mean that Koenma made the choice. Unfortunately, I could find no fault in his reasoning, so I never protested. In fact, no one protested. Yusuke and Hiei never really cared, and I dare say, Kuwabara fancied the notion of working with me on a case. It happened so rarely.) The purpose of pairing us in such a way was that Kuwabara paired with either Hiei or Yusuke produced a potentially volatile situation. Apparently I was the only one sedate enough to handle him.

Three: night duty. Admittedly, Kuwabara and I made a conspicuous pair. The tall, muscle-bound man with a loud mouth attracted enough attention. He simply was never intended for stealth missions. Alone I might pass unnoticed through a crowd, but with him beside me, we drew stares. Once people looked at me, they tended not to look away immediately. Chalk it up to my commanding presence—or the pretty-boy image I keep. At any rate, we did better under a cloak of darkness. The darkness did help some when it came to dampening Kuwabara's nonstop chatter. He was more aware of the need for quiet, so he lowered his voice and instead whispered continually.

Now, I've already mentioned that this youkai we were following was dull. When I say dull, I mean he was so painfully ordinary—in _human_ terms—that had I not been youkai myself and capable of distinguishing him from the humans, I never would have pegged him for one of us. (Note that I use 'us' extremely loosely. It's long since been made clear to me that I am no longer a member of the demon society. My heritage is all that keeps me from being considered wholly human. A traitor, maybe, but not human.) Being as he was youkai, I expected at least some unusual habits. Something that might reflect his true nature. But there was nothing.

During the day, according to Hiei and Yusuke, the guy went to his day job. He was a chef at a family-run restaurant. If that was not thrilling enough, he spent his breaks courting the daughter of the owner of that very restaurant. The guy was smitten. Daddy was not so pleased. Apparently he did not want his baby girl marrying a lowly chef. I could see that. If I ever had a daughter I would certainly want better for her than Mr. Hairnet. I always say aim high. The best treasures are always hard to get, but that makes it that much more rewarding when you finally lay your hands on them. Baby girl should have been aiming for Mr. CEO. Well, according to anyone who knows anything, love chooses you, not the other way around. (I heard that from Shizuru, actually, and she seems to have a good head on her shoulders.)

At seven, we switched off. Kuwabara and I would wait until the guy got off work—at eight—and follow him. He went home. Every day, he went home. Actually, today he stopped at a vegetable vender and the fish market, and then he went home. Rice, fish, and leeks. Heaven help us all, we've got domestic mass murderer.

After he went home, he made dinner and watched the evening news. He then would go on his computer and download porn. Daddy's baby girl was flirting with a pervert. Or a normal male, however one looked at it. Kuwabara once remarked he recognized one of the pictures. What's that say about Kuwabara? When we switched with Yusuke and Hiei the next morning, Yusuke was complaining because he liked that model. I was not sure how to feel about that, but at the time Hiei made an appropriately sarcastic comment, so I never had to address it. One might attribute our ignorance to such matters as a result of being youkai, but that did not explain our criminal.

"What's he doing now?"

Kuwabara's question prompted me to hold up my binoculars and look through the window into the youkai's one-bedroom shack. Yes, the guy lived like a pauper. He was a chef for a small business, so it was not difficult to conceive. He had a kitchenette with the essentials of a refrigerator and a microwave in one corner, a computer set up on a card table (also used as a dinner table), a futon, a bathroom, and a portable television set. I was willing to bet he had never invited a girl to this place.

"He's sleeping."

"Man!" Kuwabara yawned. "I wish we could be sleeping."

"At least you don't have to go to school."

That was the only reason I did not reject this mission entirely. I could pull an all-nighter or two, but even Hiei would wear down after three days. And at the rate we were going, we would be watching this guy for another three weeks before anything happened.

"Yeah, I'm wasting away my summer!"

That was also true. Twelve hours of this left us sleeping during the day. We had our breakfasts at five, lunched at eleven, and by five AM, neither of us was in the mood for eating. I don't know what Kuwabara did, but I threw a heavy blanket over my window at home and slept until three. Shiori and Hatanaka worked, and Shuichi's got one heck of a social life, so no one ever bothered me. Neither did they seem to notice I was leading the life of a vampire, or if they did no one commented.

"Aaaaugh, this is boring!" Trust Kuwabara to state the obvious. As I already said, this youkai—by name of Kitagawa Kenichi—was duller than the dirt upon which he trod. Yusuke and Hiei got to watch him work and flirt. We got to see him eat, sleep, watch porn and masturbate. I would have given my left arm to be on the day shift. "Wanna play cards?"

Really, I should have said no. After all, the depth of the shit we would have been shoveling through had Kitagawa done something of note while we ignored our duties would not have been worth the game. But, as Kuwabara said, it was boring. I was bored. He was dozing. It made for a bad situation. So I set aside the binoculars and nodded for him to deal up the cards.

(stuff)

Well, it turned out that youkai Kitagawa Kenichi was not as innocent as he first appeared. In fact, he turned out to be quite the little criminal. Smalltime, to be sure, but nasty in his own rights. Kuwabara and I even got to witness the sudden change from friendly little pervert to flat-out evil.

But before that, odd things were happening during the daytime. Of course, I already pointed out I wasn't awake during the better portion of the day, so it took awhile to notice. It was not something that Kuwabara noticed, or even Yusuke. Hiei was never forthcoming, so if he thought anything was strange, he felt no need to tell me or anyone else. However, I did notice it.

It started one morning when Hiei and Yusuke came to switch off with us. Yusuke immediately took to pumping Kuwabara for information on the previous night's porn star. They were off and running in the world of voyeurism, so I left them to it to check up with Hiei.

"Idiots." That was an expected response, and I smiled at the familiarity of it. At least someone else around here was sane.

"Good morning, Hiei."

"Hn… good morning. Nothing happened?"

Okay, let me take a moment aside to point out the first strange thing that happened that day. Note Hiei's greeting. His typical grunt, correct? I don't think he could ever function if he did not mumble some incoherent, time-filling article at some point in a conversation. In any case, that was normal. The _next_ thing he said should have surprised me, but it didn't. I did not consider it at all odd that he said 'good morning' to me. I should have, but I did not. It just goes to prove that a long night of doing nothing could lead to dull senses.

Back to the conversation we had:

"No… oh, he bought groceries." Yes, and this thrilled me only because it was slightly different than usual.

"Hn." There was that muttering again. He then shoved something into my hands. More accurately, he shoved a small food container at me.

"What's this?" Naturally, I was surprised. He obviously wanted me to hold this for him, but why he thought I would tolerate being his bag-carrier, I could not fathom.

"Breakfast," he said. "The detective's girl made enough for everyone. Yusuke ate Kuwabara's."

"Oh… thanks." That was not uncommon for Keiko. She always worried about Yusuke when he had a mission—however mundane—and she seemed to have extended her concern to include the rest of us. It was oddly heartwarming.

"You should go get some sleep. You look tired."

"Hm." He did have a point. I was exhausted. Despite three nights of this, my body was not yet acclimated to the alien schedule. "Yes."

"Not that you look bad. You look fine. Just tired."

That was a cross between a compliment and an insult, and I could not decide which one to choose. Curious as to why Hiei felt the need to elaborate on how tired I looked, I studied him for a few seconds. He looked the same as he always did, black cloak, spiked hair, bored expression on his face while he watched Yusuke and Kuwabara from afar. There was nothing to suggest he was feeling particularly chatty that morning.

"Right…" I turned to leave. After all, exhaustion was probably the reason I was finding Hiei's behavior so strange. He had not said or done anything particularly shocking after all. Not until his next words.

"You should wear white more often." I looked back at him. He was still staring at Yusuke and Kuwabara, but as they were too preoccupied with their argument with each other I doubted he was addressing either of them. That, and I was the only person wearing white at the moment. A white tee shirt and a pair of my white training pants to be exact. I had not been paying much attention when I pulled those out of my closet, but I was still a little groggy from waking. Naturally, I thought he was poking fun at me, so I shook my head and continued leaving. Then, he added, "It looks good on you."

I decided then and there that I was too tired to handle compliments from Hiei, of all people. Sighing, unsure whether or not he was being truthful or snide, I left. I had a bed to contemplate, and Hiei's bizarre commentary was not something I wanted to try to understand.

So it was that the oddness began. I did not spare much time for consideration. My brain was already in bed though my body was not. And not too much later, the rest of me made it to my bed.

(stuff)

The next time I encountered Hiei was the evening of the following day. He should have been there when Kuwabara and I relieved him and Yusuke, but he was not. Yusuke just muttered something about Hiei having some reading to do and ran off to do whatever he does during the summer. (Probably smoking or hitting the entertainment center, but sometimes Yusuke surprised us by being thoughtful and visiting Keiko.) And the next morning Yusuke arrived without him. This time, Yusuke had no excuse for Hiei.

Kuwabara was suitably irritated by Hiei's laxity in his Spirit World duties. According to him, Hiei was sneaking off early and coming in late to give himself more free time. That seemed unlikely since Yusuke explained that Hiei only left about fifteen minutes before we arrived, and I sensed Hiei's arrival while I was leaving. Fifteen minutes hardly counts as slacking. He probably had an errand to run. Ultimately, a few minutes made no difference.

"We got to follow him on a delivery!" Yusuke said with false enthusiasm the instant we arrived. Kuwabara groaned loudly and slouched down on the bench beside Yusuke. I empathized with them. This job had to be one of the worst Koenma had ever assigned to us.

"Why do we have to keep doing this?" Kuwabara asked of no one in particular.

"_You_ do not have to do anything." This acerbic comment marked Hiei's entrance. He had been sitting in the tree just above the park bench. "You merely tag along to annoy the rest of us."

"Shut up, short stuff!"

"Hn."

One really had to pity Kuwabara on occasions such as these. He was not a stupid person by any means. He would never make the honor role, but he did well enough in school when he studied. However, witty he was not. When pitted against someone like Hiei, who had probably spent the better part of his life—not as long as mine, but he was definitely older than any human would ever be—dodging derisive jokes and harsh insults due to his mixed breed status, Kuwabara was at a disadvantage. The Demon World is not kind to those with impure blood. Heck, it's not kind to anyone. Youkai found any flaw reason enough to torment another. Needless to say, Hiei had picked up a few tricks when it came to diverting insults, and not all of them involved slice and dice. Kuwabara never stood a chance. Yusuke only ever succeeded in the war of words because of his inane ability to leave his conversation partner utterly befuddled. And that only worked with Hiei and me, it seemed, because it never fazed Kuwabara, and Keiko only whacked him for it.

Yusuke jabbed Kuwabara a few times to distract him from Hiei's refusal to acknowledge his weak insult. It seemed to work, so I got the opportunity to ask the question which had been bothering me.

"A delivery?"

Hiei nodded curtly.

"Busy day," he explained. He glanced at me, then looked away again. (Also typical Hiei, not being the type to hold eye contact unless he was in direct confrontation.) "Busier than usual."

"I see." In other words, it had been yet another mind-numbing day. In a poor attempt to lighten the mood, I added, "At least the scenery changed a bit."

"Hn."

It was not much of a response, but at least he sounded amused. My day was complete when Hiei was amused. Well, not really, but I did find it intriguing when he decided to smile. He was one of those stoic, never-will-laugh-because-that-might-ruin-my-cool-tough-man-image kind of guys. Trying to get a rise out of him was one of my favorite games. If he had truly been a stoic, humorless guy, it never would have been so easy. In actuality, he was just shy. At least, that was my theory. I pride myself on being pretty good at judging character, but some people are better actors than others—I have been fooled, to my embarrassment. But Hiei is not one of those people. _Kuwabara_ was a better actor than Hiei.

"I assume your day was more interesting."

"Sure." That stupid comment deserved to be shot down. Why was he commenting on my day? Surely he knew that most of my time was devoted to this. I had maybe three hours of free time between this case, sleeping, and traveling back and forth between my home and the youkai's shack. "I slept. I showered. I came here."

It was not a particularly malicious reply, but Hiei looked a little surprised. He blinked and adopted the half irritated, half panicked expression he always had when he found himself at a loss for words to explain himself.

"H-hn…" I had made him uncomfortable it seemed. Oh well. He would get over it. Sure enough, he proceeded to inform me about Kitagawa's activities that day. Aside from the afternoon delivery, nothing much had changed. Kitagawa was still wearing hairnets and flirting with Daddy's daughter. Life was one big roller coaster ride for the porn-loving youkai. Thinking of which, I reminded myself to give Kuwabara the binoculars when we arrived at Kitagawa's house. I'd rather watch the guy sleep than see him vent his sexual frustration.

"Come on, Hiei!" Yusuke's shout cut our conversation short. Hiei looked rather disgusted, probably because of the volume of Yusuke's cry. When it came to stealth, Yusuke was not much better than Kuwabara. "We did our time! Let's go! Keiko's dragging me to a movie tonight. Come with! I could use some company!"

What was that saying? Misery loves company? No doubt that was Yusuke's line of thought. Hiei was not of the same opinion.

"Hn," Hiei grunted. "As if I don't get enough of you during the day."

Kuwabara found it funny. He laughed and slung his arm around my shoulders and announced, "While you're off watching sappy movies with Keiko, Kurama 'n' I'll be having a great time!"

If he believed that, then my praise of his level of intelligence was unfounded. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure he was just trying to get under Yusuke's skin. It worked. Yusuke flipped him off and stomped away.

"Kurama."

"Hm?" Oh. Hiei had not yet left. That was unusual. "Hiei?"

"…See you tomorrow."

"I look forward to it." Believe me, I did. Seeing Hiei and Yusuke again meant my shift was over and I could go home. Sometimes the moment was worthy of singing. I'm not much of a singer, or I might have actually done that a few times.

"Hn," Hiei smirked a little. Something about my response must have amused him. Granted, I found it funny… in a vague, not-worth-a-laugh kind of way. "Have a good night."

Bemused, I watched him go. I would have blamed it on Yusuke, but Yusuke was not so well-mannered as to wish someone well when he took his leave. It might have been Yukina's influence. Or Keiko. From the sound of it, he had been spending enough time around Yusuke that he actually encountered Keiko in non life-threatening situations. Either way, Hiei was being exceedingly polite lately.

Beside me Kuwabara was making curious little choking noises. That could only bode ill, so I checked to be sure he was not going to pass out on me. Although if I had to take him to a hospital, that would get me out of spying on Kitagawa for awhile. Maybe even long enough to miss all his pre-bedtime activities.

"Kuwabara? You okay?"

He stopped gagging immediately. Dragging the back of his hand over his mouth, he looked at me as if surprised by my concern. As if I had never shown worry for his well-being.

"You mean you didn't—" Even as he stopped talking he pointed. I looked and saw Yusuke's retreating back. Yusuke needed to wash that jacket. There was dirt all down the back, as though he had been sleeping on the ground. But I doubted that was what had Kuwabara in such a frenzy.

"Didn't what?"

His hand dropped, and he squinted at me suspiciously. He leaned in closer, prompting me to edge back.

"What?" I demanded. This was bordering on ridiculous. First Hiei was acting oddly, and then Kuwabara had gotten jumpier than usual. "Did I miss something?"

"…No," he said after a moment of apparently deep contemplation. "It's… it's nothing."

"If you're sure…"

"Yeah! I mean, I'm sure! I'm fine!" That came far too quickly. I had the distinct impression that I was the butt of one of his and Yusuke's childish jokes. Kuwabara looked almost green with poorly hidden anxiety, so he was obviously hiding something. But if it was a prank, I was fairly well certain I wanted no part of it.

I let it drop.

"Okay. Kitagawa will be leaving soon." Kuwabara's relief at the change in subject was almost tangible. He grinned and leapt into a gung-ho pose.

"Tonight's the night, Kurama!" he declared confidently. "I can feel it! We'll get him tonight!"

I nodded, not believing a word of it, and followed him to the comic book shop. (I kept watch from there since Kuwabara was too busy scoping out the latest manga.)

(more stuff)

Kuwabara was either mistaken or lying. Nothing happened that night. In fact, the day must have exhausted our supposed criminal because he did not even make dinner that night. He went home and ate cold leftover chicken while watching the news. He nodded off several times, only to jerk awake a few seconds later, readjust himself, and let his head droop again. Apparently deciding his routine to be too strenuous that night, he took a shower earlier than usual and went to bed at around nine-thirty.

Watching a person was dull enough. Watching a person sleep was about as exciting as watching paint dry. Or mold form on bread. Okay, well that could be interesting, but only when accelerated or with a mutated form of mold—and keep in mind mold is a form of plant and as such would interest me so don't think I'm completely neurotic. I don't spend afternoons sitting around waiting for my bread to grow mold. Either way, the point is made. It's Boring. With a capital B. Thank Shiori for the foresight to pick up a book for me at the store while she was out yesterday. It was a study of Norse mythology and unlike anything I had read. Let me just say: humans had a startlingly violent history.

"Man, you and Hiei are exactly alike!"

Yusuke's voice greeted us the next morning, and from his tone, that comment was not intended to be complimentary. I marked my page—near the end—and looked up at him. Fists on hips, grin set firmly in place, he looked as he always did. Cocky.

"How is that, Yusuke?" I inquired, polite yet not really wanting to hear it if he was planning to insult me. One never knew with Yusuke.

"Always got your nose in a book," he announced.

There were too many things wrong with that observation to even mention. As a matter worth mentioning, I did not often read outside of school. I had always appreciated knowledge for the sake of knowing things, but I got more of it from a day of school than I did from a year in the Demon World. There was no need to immerse myself in it completely. And Hiei… since when did Hiei read anything outside of what was absolutely necessary?

Of course, there was no use in getting into an argument over it. Not with Yusuke. I could prove him wrong a hundred ways and he would still find a way to have the last word. He excelled at that. Besides, his comment raised an interesting question, though I had doubts of finding its answer in Yusuke.

"Is that so?"

"Like we're not here for a little conversation!" Yusuke gestured to himself and Kuwabara. I heard Hiei's derisive snort from somewhere in the tree above me and agreed wholeheartedly.

"I'm not a very good conversationalist," I said finally. "And twelve hours is a long day."

"Or night," Kuwabara added. "He slept. A lot!"

"No shit! He's got a day job. He can't stay up every night!"

And so it digressed. I packed away my book and quietly retreated. After five nights of this, I was almost accustomed to it, but I was still tired. More than likely it was from inactivity rather than lack of sleep.

"Your night was uneventful?"

"Hiei," I greeted him with a nod. "Yes. He even spared us Sexcapades." No, that was not the name of the show, but that was what Kuwabara called it, and I used it simply because Hiei would know what I meant.

"Better night than usual," he retorted with a smirk. I had to laugh. It was true, after all.

"I can't say I'm ungrateful," I admitted. "Shouldn't you be helping Yusuke?"

"He can handle Kuwabara without my help."

"Agreed." I looked at him uncertainly. Hiei was more astute than that. He should have known that was not what I meant. "I meant helping him watch Kitagawa."

"Hn!" He was embarrassed by that little slip. "Yes, well…"

"Or is there something you think I should know?" I was fishing for ways to get him out of this awkward hole he seemed to have fallen into the past few days. Of course, I could only throw him the rope. He had to take it upon himself to grab the rope and climb out.

"…No." He stopped. Had he left immediately, I would have let it be. Instead, he was quiet and remained in place, watching me. It was very uncomfortable and left me more than a little worried.

So, I stopped as well. Setting a hand on his shoulder (he tensed considerably), I looked into his face. He did not look to be at his peak, that much was certain. There were dark circles under his eyes and stress lines set into his forehead and around his mouth.

"Hiei." He looked at me, though it was obvious he was reluctant to do so. I smiled in hopes of making him relax. "After you're done tonight, I think you should get some rest. You look terrible."

He grimaced and looked away. Sighing to myself, I patted his shoulder once and let my hand fall. I gave advice. Whether or not he took it was his prerogative.

"Be careful today, Hiei," I suggested, and left.

Behind me, I heard him mutter under his breath, then louder he said:

"Sleep well yourself, Kurama."

I nodded, but he was probably already gone.

TBC...

Notes: And it starts. Hiei is acting oddly. Kurama is confused. And he's just bound to get even more befuddled with Hiei involved...


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See prologue.

_Notes_: To anyone who is concerned about this being Shounen ai, I wouldn't worry too much. If you can believe it, I'll never put up so much as a citrus warning. And lemons do not officially exist on this site. I do follow the rules if I can help it.

Chapter 2

As it turned out, I did not get to sleep at all that day. I went home to see a note from Shiori on the counter requesting I take Shuichi out to run errands that day. Had anyone else made such a request, I would have politely refused. But… Shiori. I never could say no to her. And she did not ask much of me that summer, so it was the least I could do. At least Shuichi was pleasant company.

Kuwabara was understanding about it. By four the next morning I was ready to drop. Kuwabara took one look at me and volunteered to wake me should anything happen. He even suffered a numb arm because I fell asleep leaning against it. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened while I slept. Kitagawa was in bed and never got up before seven-thirty—half an hour after our shift ended, which was how we got away with our meetings every morning. Even the most oblivious of men could not be continually unaware of four people outside his house every day. We made certain he was still asleep. If he woke early, we shifted our meeting place a block further down.

Naturally, I did not expect to get a great deal of sleep. Even assuming I slept solid—which, incidentally, I did. Thank you so much, Kuwabara—the shift ended at seven, which left only three hours. I honestly expected nothing to happen. Kitagawa had thus far proven himself impotent as far as demons go (and no, that was not intended as a pun), so I did not think Kuwabara would be waking me to go chase after a homicidal demon. If it had been necessary, of course Kuwabara would not have been to blame. He did his job properly (mostly).

Kuwabara did not wake me that morning. It was Hiei, the little dick. There I was, caught in relatively peaceful dreams, when he came along and suddenly decided he was suicidal. Don't laugh. It was the only plausible explanation at the time. Had he been in his normal state of mind, he would have gone straight for Kuwabara. Instead he decided to attack me.

Of course, _attack_ is a little strong a word for it, but when one is wrenched from slumber by what might be perceived as a violent force, _attack_ is the first thing that comes to mind. It was the first thought on my mind when he grabbed my arm and the back of my shirt (not to mention a good chunk of my hair) and hauled me over the back of the bench where we had been sitting. Truly, who does that kind of thing? Even in the Demon World I never did that, at least, not to anyone I particularly liked.

Actually, the first thought I had was not _attack_, but _what the hell!_ After that, it was _attack_. Had I been awake before Hiei decided to play toss-the-fox I might have realized there was no danger. His words, while angry, apparently were not directed at me. Being as I was still chasing through flowery meadows after a floating bowl of rice (don't ask, I'm no expert in dream interpretation) I was a little startled. The anger I heard. The words flew right past me. And I still think Hiei deserved to be thrown into that tree.

He should not have been surprised. There was no excuse for that shocked look on his face. However, it seemed the moment of insanity passed quickly. His apparent indignation faded as soon as our eyes met. For all his speed, Hiei was not the quickest student when it came to judging situations, but he was smart enough to know when he was beat. His mouth shut before anything worthless came out.

Unfortunately for him I was not letting him off quite that easily.

"Holy shit!" Kuwabara had finally gotten a grasp on the situation. I'll give him some credit. A normal human would have taken longer, and he had only taken a few seconds to understand a little of what had passed. "What the hell was that all about?"

"That's what I'd like to know." I rubbed my back and winced. It was bruised from Hiei's attempt at manhandling me over the back of a wooden bench. I hoped he ached from his collision with that tree, but I doubted it. It took more than that to cause Hiei any damage. But hey, the day was still young. After that awakening I was a little cranky. He could have dumped a pail of ice water over my head but no, he had to go primitive on me. So I glared at him and dared him to offer a stupid explanation. "Did I do something to _upset_ you?"

Hiei's mouth opened and shut a few times, and he turned an unusual shade of red. He had never blushed quite so deeply to date that I was aware. Finally, he set his jaw and adjusted his glare to include both Kuwabara and me.

"_What_ were you doing?" he asked. It sounded close to his usual coldness, but he never could fool me. There was a nervous dip to his question. He was well aware of his blunder.

"Watching Kitagawa!" Kuwabara retorted indignantly. "What's it to you?"

Such a response should not have fazed Hiei, but it did. He stopped dead, his mouth snapping shut against his angry reply. If anything he looked less angry than startled. His mouth opened again, but he jittered in place for a moment before cursing softly and disappearing. I was not positive, but it looked as if he had merely retreated to a tree a short distance away (not the one he had recently collided with). Even with his state of agitation, he had a solid sense of duty. The job of watching Kitagawa might not have been the most exciting of tasks, but when Hiei set out to do something, he finished it.

"Yo, Kuwabara!"

Yusuke had arrived. We turned to greet him, both still baffled by our latest misadventure. Grinning broadly, Yusuke clapped his hand into Kuwabara's in greeting, the latter responding out of habit. Kuwabara was still looking dazed. Yusuke never noticed.

"Hey, Kurama!" he greeted belatedly. He blinked and tilted his head at me. Squinting and leaning forward, he made an elaborate show of studying me. It was very uncomfortable. Finally, he glanced at Kuwabara, who still had a shell-shocked glaze to his eyes. His grin faded. "You guys look funny. What happened?"

"Uhhh…" Kuwabara was obviously incapable of finding an appropriate answer to that one.

"Hiei's morning manner leaves much to be desired," I offered. Yusuke's anxious stare changed to one of pure bafflement. Not caring much about that but more curious as to what had tipped him off, I added, "Why do you ask?"

His eyebrows shot up, and he made a poor attempt at not smiling. Eventually he gave up. He grinned and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Your hair is all messy," he stated.

My hand immediately went to my head. Messy? My hair? Surely not. My hair was _never_ messy. Well, it sometimes got tangled during… well, during certain strenuous activities, but that's why one keeps a brush by the bed, is it not? Even when I fought, it never got messy. A little disheveled, maybe, but that windblown look was always attractive, so why complain? Hey. I _pride_ myself on keeping up good appearances. Blood, bruises, cuts. Fine. But there was no excuse for messy hair.

My fingers caught in a knot near my nape. Wincing at the sharp pull against my skin, I set to work at untangling the offending clump of hair. Sure enough, it was sticking out oddly, which was probably what Yusuke had noticed.

"Hey, no big deal," Yusuke laughed aloud at my plight. Kuwabara was laughing too. I glared at them for their audacity. "You're going home anyway, aren't you? Get some sleep? Some rest so you don't look like someone gave you two black eyes?"

If this was his way of telling me I looked like shit, I did not appreciate it. Between Hiei and Yusuke, my self-confidence was decreasing at a startlingly rapid rate. And it was all Hiei's fault. If he had just woken me like a normal person does, he never would have twisted his grubby mitts in my hair, and I would still look semi-human. Maybe I'd punch Yusuke a few times and our eyes would match. He wouldn't be making anymore snide comments _then_.

"Anything happen last night?"

"Nah," Kuwabara took over answering while I improvised a small forked branch for a comb. A morning jogger looked at me oddly, and I edged closer to Kuwabara. He was big enough to block the view from the road. "Same old deal. Kurama didn't get to sleep yesterday, though."

"That the reason behind the whole bed-head?" Yusuke asked. He laughed when he saw me yanking at a particularly nasty knot. I had a few choice words for that, but I kept them to myself. There was no need to make the situation worse. I knew quite well what kind of response there would be if I said anything.

"Hiei tried to play catch with Kurama," Kuwabara explained. He grinned. "But Kurama threw him into a tree. You should've seen the pipsqueak fly."

I smirked to myself at the mental image that provided. I did not actually see Hiei until he hit the ground several feet away from me.

"It was awesome," the boy added, and Yusuke was laughing. Thank you, Kuwabara. I always liked you best.

"Man, I would've paid to see that!" Yusuke remarked. To his credit, he sobered quickly and nodded toward the house. "Well, I'm off to my shift. He'll be up soon."

"Yeah," Kuwabara clapped a hand against my shoulder, causing me to drop my makeshift brush. It was just as well. I had done the best I could without the benefit of an actual brush. I would have to fix it when I got home. "I'll make sure Kurama doesn't fall asleep on the train and miss his stop."

That one deserved a derisive comment, but I was too tired and annoyed to be bothered with it. If anything, at least Kuwabara's presence would keep Hiei at bay. After that bizarre display a few minutes ago, I was not in the mood to deal with him. Certainly not unless he came up with an extremely good excuse. 'I was possessed by a demon hell-bent on eating your heart out' would have been a start. Granted demons were not known for possessing other demons, and any demon powerful enough to possess Hiei would have stayed to finish the job because I probably—and Kuwabara certainly—would not have been capable of defeating him. Therefore, Hiei was acting out of his own harebrained volition.

I should have cared, but I was all for going home and getting in bed. So I looked at Yusuke and offered him some advice to pass on.

"If you ever see Hiei today, tell him he'd better come clean with me." Someone else might have added an 'or else…' and some threat, but it was an unnecessary thing. Hiei knew full well what I was capable of doing to him. We both knew that where he would hesitate, I would not. And that put him at a terrible disadvantage. Never let it be said that I'm a nice guy. At least, not to people who have been hell bent on making a fool of me these past several days. "Let's go, Kuwabara. If we hurry, we can make the seven-forty-five."

"Right!" Lucky Kuwabara. He did not catch my threat. But Yusuke knew. Yusuke was looking at me with a contemplative stare that seemed to pry into me. It was a demand, and it took quite a bit of effort not to answer it. He wanted to know who I was—he always wanted to know that. And I loved him dearly, but I never told anyone that. "Later, Urameshi."

"Yeah," Yusuke nodded solemnly. Ooh. I had ruined his good humor. If I was not so tired I might have cared. "Later Kuwabara… Kurama."

And, by the smiling fates, we made the seven-forty-five train. I was in bed by eight-thirty.

_XXXX_

The cycle repeated. Seven o'clock that night Kuwabara and I met Yusuke in the coffee shop across the street from Kitagawa's place of employ. Fully rested and much more content, I had nearly forgotten my quarrel with a certain demon who would remain nameless. (Yes, but we all know who it is, don't we? Shares a name with a mountain? Begins with H? Yes, him.) Okay, so my quarrel was not completely forgotten. In fact, I was immensely relieved that he was not in the coffee shop, not that I expected him to actually enter a human-run establishment of his own free will.

Yusuke was there and had already ordered tea for me and a juice for Kuwabara. Neither of us were big coffee drinkers. We left that to Yusuke, who, at that moment, was making notes on his napkin. I should have given him his privacy, but curiosity always was my weakness, so I looked at it. There were only a few notes: flowers, movie, dinner, poetry.

Seemed he was still trying to figure out how to get on Keiko's good side. Heaven only knows why he thought he needed to go to such extents. Keiko would have walked through fire for him no matter how much of a jerk he was. Wait a minute—she _had_ walked through fire for him. The point is, she knew he cared for her more than his own little life, so all that spouting poetry was unnecessary. Granted, I had only ever held a girlfriend for a few days in a row, so I might not have been the expert in long-lasting relationships. Back in the Demon World the only thing most of those girls were good for was… well, nothing that's suitable for polite company.

We sat across from Yusuke, Kuwabara kindly taking the inner seat. Call me fussy, but he was quite a bit larger than me, and I hated being trapped between a wall and his bulk. Made me a little claustrophobic.

Yusuke was contemplating his napkin, barely aware we had arrived. He tapped his pen against the napkin a few times, as if it would help him produce more ideas, but all he produced were a few extra blue dots.

"Nothing happened," Yusuke said finally, speaking to the tabletop. He shoved the pen and his napkin into his pocket as he stood. Grinning widely, he added, "Have fun," and then left. Just like that.

"Uh…" Kuwabara and I exchanged curious looks. I never had any idea what went on in Yusuke's mind. Kuwabara was usually better at figuring our leader out, but judging by the blank stare, he was no better off than I was. "Okay…"

I moved to Yusuke's recently vacated seat and looked out the window to the restaurant across the street. Kitagawa was inside serving a plate of something to a customer. I was thrilled already. Fortunately, Kuwabara launched into a conversation about the latest gossip on the street and the next movie to come to the theaters. Oddly, I was starting to grow accustomed to—and even begrateful for—his constant chatter.

_XXXX_

One might say we got lucky that night. No, I am not referring to sex. Well, I guess you could argue I am, but it's stretching it a little. What I mean is that Kitagawa chose that night to finally do something more naughty than view pornographic websites.

It started out normally. Kitagawa waved good-bye and went home as he did each night before. Kuwabara sensed something was wrong before I did. He had a powerful gift for empathy, one that surpassed even Hiei's talent for it. Hiei's empathic talent came from his Jagan, though, while Kuwabara's was completely natural. It only made sense that he would have a better handle on it, especially since he had worked at honing his gift in more recent years.

"Something's not right, Kurama," he told me while we quietly tailed the man to his little shack. "There's something about it… just wrong."

I believed him, of course, but neither of us knew the source of the problem. It made things difficult when it came to solving the issue. You can't answer a question you have not yet heard. Not unless you're a mind reader. Neither of us was.

"What do we do?"

"Keep following him," I suggested, since that seemed to be the only option. "Wait and see if he does anything."

It took two hours, but I finally felt what had Kuwabara so edgy. Kitagawa must have cranked up his power because Kuwabara shuddered and groaned, and I had the sudden need to be in that house. Thankfully I could repress that urge, but not before I was on my feet and half a dozen steps forward.

Let me just mention now how much falling on your knees hurts. I scraped up my palms and tore my pants in that fit of clumsiness. The darkness hid us from view, or I might have been more embarrassed at my sudden compulsion to rush forward. Kuwabara had not moved, so why had I?

Remaining half collapsed on the sidewalk lest my traitorous feet decide to launch me at that house again, I tried to pinpoint the problem. Several feet away Kuwabara was sick in the grass. Poor guy. Such was the luck of being a powerful empath. He was hit harder than I was, maybe even knocked off his feet, which would help to explain why he had not moved.

"Oh my god…" Kuwabara sounded as if he would throw up again at any moment. "What _is_ that? It's like… it's pulling me and beating me down at once."

He had described it almost exactly. More precise, what I felt was not a beating so much as a strong press—an awful desire to prostrate myself before anyone who chanced by. But it was merely physical, and that could be overcome. I knew better. Kuwabara knew better. And this would not defeat us. This…

"It's a pheromone," I realized with some shock. Of all the—we had a pheromone-releasing perverted youkai on the loose. It did not take a genius to figure out what he had planned. "The girl!"

"A fair-what?" Kuwabara groaned. "Who…?"

I left him alone because she had shown up right on time. No sooner had I thought it, Daddy's girl (the daughter of the restaurant owner) arrived in a cab. She paid the driver and chased him off with an angry shout before running to Kitagawa's front door. She had to chase that driver away. He probably would have gone inside with her. Unlike Kuwabara and myself, it was doubtful that either of them noticed anything was amiss. They both simply wanted to be in that house, however filthy or dubious, and with whoever was inside. _Or whatever_.

That girl would never survive if Kitagawa was unable to control himself. She was only human, and I knew what demons did to each other. Demons could heal. She would die before she ever reached a hospital.

It occurred to me for a moment—just a moment—that this was completely consensual. The girl knew full well what he wanted, and he loved her enough to know the extents of her fragility and compensate for it.

I threw the thought away before it could develop into a more plausible excuse not to go into that house. If this girl truly wanted Kitagawa, he would not need that pheromone. He was getting desperate, and she was easily accessible. That damned porn should have been a sign of what he was. God, I hated youkai like that. They never used their heads. Their brains were mysteriously placed between their legs, a sick aberration of demonhood if there ever was one.

"Kuwabara!"

He did not look good. His face was gray, his eyes glazed from the sensory overload. He would probably collapse halfway to that house. Which left me in a very uncomfortable situation. I really did not want to go into that house, and certainly not alone. But if we waited until the pheromones faded, or even until we retrieved Yusuke and Hiei, that girl could very well be dead.

"Damn!" Through some force of will I turned away from the house and made it to Kuwabara's side. He was not a light person, and trying to yank him off the ground when he obviously wanted to remain there was not an easy task. I did manage to get him to his feet, though, and I sent him away from the house with a hard shove.

"Kurama!"

"Go find Yusuke!" I ordered. I avoided looking back at the house. It was almost as though just to look at it would have me in it against my will, and I would only go into that place under my own power.

"You getting Hiei?" Kuwabara asked.

"I'm getting that girl out of there," I shook my head, doubting my own ability to do this. Kitagawa looked like a pushover. In fact, he probably was outside of this disturbing little ability. If I hit him, it was very likely I could knock him out. His strength came from leaving his enemies so confused as to what they wanted to do with him that he could escape. No wonder he lived in the Human World. He would have been slaughtered in the Demon World.

"Are you crazy!" Kuwabara grabbed my arm as if he thought he could drag me along with him. I shoved him away easily. "You can't go in there!"

"That's why you'd better hurry," I hissed. He grabbed my arm again when I turned to go back to that house.

"Kurama!"

I doubt my punch really fazed him. Compared to Yusuke, my blows were like a child's slap. Still, he let go, probably more surprised that I had hit him than anything else. When he looked at me, I glared at him.

"Get Yusuke and come back," I said. Then to really stress on the urgency I felt, I added, "In fact, if you don't come back and that guy somehow manages to hurt me, I'll blame you for being too slow. Fair enough?"

He stammered and stumbled back a few steps. I sent him running with a snarled, "_Go!_" Certain he was going to do everything he could to get back in time to help, I threw away all sense of self-preservation and ran toward that house.

TBC…

_Notes_: Pheromones. Somehow I managed to throw this story into the gutter, let it soak, and then pull it out before any of our four main characters could be really affected. Unfortunately, the weaker, created and thusly less important characters suffered for it.

_Next Chapter_: Who's to say whose blunder is worse?

_Kuroya_: Thanks for the suggestions for the breaks. I was ready to tear my own hair out for frustration.

_Serenader (Agent Green):_ Hiei OOC... he's supposed to be that way. It'll make sense in awhile. And yay for good grammar! Nothing makes me dump a story faster than painfully bad grammar.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See prologue.

Notes: As a celebration for my finals coming to an end, I decided I would post this early. Because I'm very happy for summer. And I thought the 'pheromone' stuff was pretty clear in this part, but if it's really confusing, let me know.

Warnings: Some violence. Some _almost_ Shounen ai.

Onward!

Chapter 3

By the time I got to the door I understood Kuwabara's need to vomit. The nausea was not caused by the pheromone. The only power that held over us was that it made the victim extraordinarily submissive. Needless to say, that was not something to which I was accustomed. No one made me do anything I didn't want to do. Not even Shiori had that kind of power over me. (As you might imagine, I was a monster of a child. I still am baffled as to why she did not kick me out on my butt years ago.) So the need to be sick came from the awareness that I was moments away from submitting completely. If that happened, even to the extent that I sat back and let him beat the crud out of me, I thought I just might go insane. I swore to myself I would never allow it.

I really did not know what to do once I got to the door. It was an imposing thing, that scrap of wood that stood between me and my target. It would have been nothing to knock it down. But so help me, I did not want to go any further. How many years ago was it that I would have said 'to hell with the girl' and left? Not that many, come to think on it. Five. Six. Maybe eight. Before that I never sacrificed myself for anyone. I was like Hiei, only looking out for number one. But now, I could not live with myself if I walked away only to open the paper the next morning and discover a girl had been brutally raped and murdered. Guilt has got to be one of the worst forces in this universe.

The big problem came with the unknown in this situation. I did not know if Kitagawa had attacked the girl. I did not know if I would simply rush in and find them chatting over a cup of tea. If I had been in my right mind earlier I might have thought to look through the window before I rushed over here. But my brain was in such a state of denial that I doubt I would have recognized the situation for what it was had I looked. So I took my life in my hands and decided to go for the Yusuke method—that is, to haphazardly walk into the situation and see if I can't get myself killed in the process.

I knocked on the door.

The thought of Kitagawa actually interrupting himself and answering a knock was ludicrous. But chalk one up for stupidity because he did just that. The door opened, and I looked up into Kitagawa's bland face. He was as boring to look upon as his life was to observe. Brown hair, brown eyes, average height—just a little taller than I was—and average build. While he was by no means ugly, he was not particularly good looking. You might pass him on the street and never realize he was there. I had to give him credit for his success in fully integrating himself into human society in this way. Who would suspect a guy who looked like the average Japanese citizen of being a demon? Even his demonic features were somewhat human, save for an odd thickening of his lower body, but even that could be written off as someone who was bottom-heavy.

"What do you want?" Kitagawa asked irritably. I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Are you Kentaro?" Where on _Earth_ had that come from? I nearly smacked myself for that one.

"No."

"Oh." I tilted my head to look around him, but he shifted to the side to block my view. Blinking to clear my head, which was rapidly fogging again, I asked, "Is he here?"

"No."

"Oh." This was not working. I had to get into his house somehow. "Well can I wait inside until he gets here?" Right. So I never was very good at talking my way in. I usually avoided that part. Knock out the guards or avoid them completely. I hated schmoozing.

"Look kid," Kitagawa glared at me. I think he was suspicious. For all intents and purposes, I should have been on my knees at his feet. That I was standing there as if nothing was wrong was probably a warning bell to him. "I don't know who Kentaro is, or what you want, but you need to get out of here."

"Are you sure?" I did a few interesting maneuvers to look around him with only minor success. At least I caught a glimpse of the girl. She was on the floor—not much clothes on—and holding her throat. There were any number of reasons she could have been doing that, but I had to assume foul play. I looked at Kitagawa again. He was not a happy demon, scowling at me in what he probably thought was an intimidating manner. "I could have sworn this was the address. Kentaro never lies, you know—"

I hit him. I had been right about his strength. He was a pushover. I'm not big on attacking with my fists. I usually end up with my face in the dirt if I try it. But Kitagawa collapsed to the floor holding his jaw. I shook my hand out, cursing the pain that came with punching a man at the joints like that. Bone on bone always hurt, even if I was the one doing the punching.

He sat up, rubbing his face and glaring at me.

"_Ow!_" he announced indignantly. As if to ask how dare I hit him. "That was uncalled for!"

I glanced over at the girl. She was looking at me in an utter daze, still holding her throat. The skin of her neck was already bruising, deep red marks forming as if he had tried to throttle her. Her face was wet, and she was still crying, but she made no move to get away. She was still caught in his spell.

My distraction cost me. Kitagawa was up again, fists flying to pay me back for that last blow. Not to pat my own back, but I did not fall when he hit my face. Staggering, blinking away stars, I sensed another punch coming and appropriately ducked. He stumbled from the miss, and I kicked him in the back as he tripped past me. He crashed into the table, his little television and computer accessories flying.

"You must really be desperate," I spat at him. I hated it when people hit me. "You have to force someone to be with you because no one wants you otherwise?"

He did not like that one. Shoving to his feet, he turned on me again, glaring murder. The taunting had been a mistake. The smart move would have been to grab the girl, however underdressed, and get the hell out. But I was not a fan of running from an enemy I should have been able to defeat. (Which if I had pulled out my rose and beheaded him right from the start, it would have been finished fast. You know what they say about hindsight.) So I was caught like the proverbial deer in the headlights when he slammed out more of that damned pheromone.

If you've ever taken a radio plugged into a wall socket and dumped it into a tub full of water and then watched the sparks fly and heard the radio station fizzle out with a blast of static, then you might have some inkling of what my head felt like at that moment. It explained why that girl was not running. She was obviously terrified and did not want to be there, but she could not move. I was vaguely aware of her screaming at the top of her very powerful lungs, which just went to prove how much he had to amp up his power to take out another demon. The human was not taking it well. I thought my head might just leap from my neck, thereby saving Kitagawa the trouble of cutting it off himself.

There was a distant awareness, the sense of someone grabbing the back of my neck and dragging me off the floor like I was some sort of animal. He shoved me back against the wall and said something. Of course, I was having a difficult time filtering out his words from the girl's screaming and the static in my head. He slammed me against the wall, and my head cleared. The girl's screams faded. Oh. The pheromone release was lowering. Thank god.

"What are you? Who sent you?"

I managed a groan. He shook me again, and I glared at him. He was awfully pushy for someone who was obviously accustomed to getting what he wanted just by asking. For lack of anything useful to say, I took a line from Kuwabara.

"What's it to you?"

He slammed me back against the wall again for that one. Fortunately he was not that strong, or it might have really hurt. His only real talent was that pheromone release.

"Don't be cheeky! You look human! How'd you disguise yourself to hide your demon side from me?"

I winced when I caught wind of his agitation. It seemed that anger and panic upped the dosage of that hormone. Hell of a powerful thing. And yet… I had smelled it before. It sounds disgusting, but I recognized it as surely as I would recognize Shiori's perfume. And I knew why Kitagawa was hiding in the Human World.

"I'm a special case," I retorted once my brain worked through an answer to his question. It took awhile longer than it should have, but at least I was not screaming my head off like that girl.

"Are you alone?" Kitagawa shook me again. "Who sent you?"

"Sent me?" As if I would just tell him. "Your stinking house drew enough attention."

"I don't believe you!"

"Why would I lie?" Why indeed? "I just don't like other demons moving in on my territory."

"You never cared before!"

Oops. How long had he lived here? Probably longer than I had been alive (as a human in any case). Funny thing about demons. They usually didn't age like humans did, even if they disguised themselves as one.

My brain went mush then. I was not even aware of him throwing me. The girl probably screamed, but I did not hear that either. That was one hell of a gift he possessed. My senses went haywire, my coordination completely lost. He might as well have been throwing a puppet around for all that I reacted. He then decided to send out an ungodly amount of that pheromone. Humiliatingly enough, I did scream then. It was not that it physically hurt. It didn't. It was just an invisible force, shoving down and stripping anyone in range of all their defenses. It was horrible. I never, _never_ wanted to feel like that again.

It stopped abruptly. The flow died, and the remaining scent fell away as though sucked out of an airplane's open door into the atmosphere. My self-awareness returned, and I discovered I had been thrown, and that I was crunched up into a ball in the corner of the room. My lungs burned, and I recalled that nonstop screaming had the tendency to drain a person of much needed oxygen. A shadow fell over me, so I looked up and saw Hiei crouched beside me. His fingers went to my throat,but I was too tired to push him away.

"You okay?" he asked, finally pulling his hand away. I nodded quickly.

"Sure." It came a little breathless, but I was recovering. "Yeah, fine." He helped me sit up. "I am _never_ doing that again."

Hiei smirked and let me use him as a guide to find my feet. I swayed a little once standing, then found my balance, and I was fine again. My head had cleared, and once that pheromone was gone, there was nothing to keep me down. I glanced over to see Kitagawa out cold, Yusuke bent over him with a skeptical look on his face. Kuwabara was helping the girl. Gentleman that he was, he had thrown his coat over her shoulders to cover her.

"What happened?"

"The detective got him," Hiei nodded toward Yusuke. "We had to wait until you were out of the shot, though."

"Better late than never," I murmured. "Is he dead?"

"Does it matter?" Hiei snorted. "The Spirit World will take care of him if he's not."

That was good enough for me. The Spirit World was known for their ungodly long punishments. Kitagawa would be a long time in returning to this world.

"Kurama!" Yusuke found his way over to us, looking worried. There was a sense of déjà vu when he asked, "You okay?"

"Fine." It was kind of nice having people worried about me. Almost nice enough that I did not find it annoying. "You came right on time."

"No kidding," Yusuke laughed, sounding nervous. "I thought we were going to have to drag you into the hospital. You sure you're okay?"

He grabbed my arm as if to steady me. Compared to the solidness of his hand, I was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm. Damn him. I never would have noticed that had he not pointed it out. It was the lagging effects of what Kitagawa had done to me. Come to think of it, Kuwabara still looked pretty pale, and he had not faced Kitagawa up close. Yusuke probably shot Kitagawa with his Spirit Gun from outside the house.

"I'll be fine," I assured him, but I let him drag my arm over his shoulders. "What about Kitagawa?"

"He's not going anywhere," Yusuke replied confidently. The demon was dead, I concluded. "Kuwabara's taking the girl home. I think you should go home too."

"As long as we're out of this filthy place," I agreed lightly. Hiei was there helping Yusuke, much to my surprise. He slipped in closer than I expected, his arm around my waist, and let me lean on his shoulder. "You know, I recognized that scent."

"It's sold on the underground," Hiei explained. "Slave owners buy it."

"Mm," I remembered that. They sold it in little cologne bottles. And I remembered where they got the scent. "Bounty hunters kill demons like Kitagawa to harvest their glands."

"Ew," Yusuke concluded. "That's seriously gross. And he used that against you? It hurt?"

"Let's just say that next time I run into a demon like him I'll kill first and ask questions later," I retorted. I really did not want to answer that question. Yusuke did not need to know.

"Right…" Yusuke probably thought I was full of it. But that hardly mattered. "Hey, let's rest here a minute. You're shaking like crazy, Kurama."

I mentally thanked him for announcing it for all to hear. Still, I was not adverse to sitting, so I let them push me onto the park bench. Yusuke bounced around nervously for a few seconds, then decided he could not sit still.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," he announced. He shoved Hiei onto the bench next to me. "Make sure no one attacks him when he's all weak—"

"Hey!" I resented that remark. I was _not_ weak.

"Take care of him, you know?" Yusuke continued right over my protest. He clapped a friendly hand against Hiei's shoulder, and ran off somewhere.

"Where is he going?" You had to admit, that retreat was awfully suspicious. Somehow, Yusuke must have sensed something I could not. That ticked me off for some reason. Yes, I knew Yusuke was more powerful, but it was not his place to coddle me. I could hold my own well enough, thank you.

"Who knows," Hiei shrugged, not caring at all. He grabbed my wrist and felt the pulse, apparently thinking I was going to keel over right there. "You should have been more careful. I keep telling you not to play with your opponents like that."

"I really don't need you lecturing me on my fighting technique, Hiei," I grumbled, not at all appreciative of his words. Who was he to tell me how to survive? I had survived quite a long time without his help. In a roundabout way, if not for him, I probably would not have been in this situation in the first place, so it really was none of his business.

"I just don't like seeing you hurt, Kurama."

Oookay. That was just a strange comment coming from Hiei. I squinted sideways at him, wondering if perhaps he had been affected by Kitagawa's pheromones. He looked fine. A little nervous, but fine.

"I'm fine, Hiei," I said after awhile. "He didn't really hurt me."

Pissed me off. Made me want to rip his throat out for daring assume he could make me cower before him. But no, he did not injure me.

"You should have waited for us."

"He was going to hurt that girl, Hiei," I snapped. The little prick was lecturing me! "What would you have done?"

"Cut his head off."

"I didn't know if he—"

"You knew."

"Look!" I twisted in my seat to glare at him. "You weren't there. Kuwabara couldn't handle it, so I did what I thought I had to do."

"You could have been killed!"

"I could be hit by a truck and be killed tomorrow, Hiei," I snapped. "What does it matter? I wasn't killed, okay? I'm alive and glad to be that way still. I don't need you telling me—"

"I'll tell you anything I want, fox." He was on his feet and visibly agitated. "You're mine, and I won't let—"

"I _beg_ your pardon?" I sat straighter and stared at him incredulously. Had he just said what I thought he said? That _pompous_ little…!

"You heard me, fox," Hiei grabbed my arms as if he thought he could force me back. He had made a lot of mistakes in the past, but this one was a whammy. And would he ever learn! "I won't let your—"

I broke his grip and shoved him back hard. He staggered a few steps—he's a heck of a lot stronger than Kitagawa was—and looked surprised when I stood to glower at him.

"Think carefully before you finish that, Hiei," I cautioned quietly. "Think really hard." He remained silent. Smart boy. "I belong to no one, Hiei. Not you, not Kitagawa, not anyone." He blinked a few times, probably realizing his mistake. "I don't know where you get off thinking you have any ownership over me or anyone else, but you'd better reevaluate your line of thinking."

That said, I turned to leave. This was grating on me. Especially after what Kitagawa had just done, I really did not need this.

"Kurama, wait—" He reached for my arm.

"Don't touch me," I growled at him. He yanked his hand away and watched me leave with a dumbfounded, open-mouthed gape. The little bastard had brought this on himself, so I felt no sympathy whatsoever. I did not expect anyone to have sympathy for me should I suffer for my mistakes, so I did not feel particularly bad about offering none to others in the same situation. There were more than a few guys at school who hated me for that. Girls… well, they were in another world entirely, so I really did not know what they thought.

And suddenly, it clicked. His behavior when he and Yusuke took their shift that morning and his awkwardness in our previous encounters. I stopped, unable to walk any further.

Was he… was he _courting_ me?

I looked back at him. He was watching me still. He looked as if he had just eaten something extremely sour. Not far behind him, "hiding" behind a tree, I saw Yusuke. The boy smacked a hand to his face and hung his head. Were they all in on it? Yusuke had been making notes before—advice to Hiei? What was this! Some sort of colossal joke? A game? Let's see how much we can screw with Kurama's head?

Son of a—! Dazed and not a little angry, I continued on my way. I needed a bath after being thrown around Kitagawa's filthy house, not to mention a relaxing soak to ease my tension. If I had to think much more on Hiei's sudden display of territoriality, I felt I might explode. If he was serious about this—which I hoped he was, or only a divine act would save him—he needed to learn a few things before he continued. Because if he showed up on my doorstep with a ball and chain of any form in hand, I was going to make him regret it.

TBC…

_Notes_: Something I might mention, Kitagawa has no particular significance as a name. I just slapped together a couple Japanese words I knew and threw in a common first name. (If you want to know, Kitagawa is North River by the kanji. I did actually take advantage of this later in the story as you'll find out.)

Well, I was going to make this longer, but I decided the section did not fit very well with this chapter, so I shoved it into the next chapter. I hope no one minds.


	5. Chapter 4

Notes: Er… we really don't get a feel for Shiori's character in the show (or in as much of the manga that I've read) so I'm taking a few liberties and guesses as to how she would be. Apologies if I'm stretching it, but I don't think I am. Oh, and Yukimura's Noodle House… Don't know what the place is truly called, but go with it.

REJOICE! I figured out how to insert the page breaks! I will now go feel like an idiot because the option is _right there_ on the freakin' QuickEdit thing...

Warnings: Um… none… I think.

Onward!

Chapter 4

The next few days went smoothly. I fell into my normal summer routine, which involved a lot of studying considering how I had neglected that recently. No one came around since our mission had ended. Outside of that, I actually rarely saw Yusuke and Kuwabara. If we trained at Genkai's temple, we saw each other constantly, but it was not as if we went to the entertainment center together. The image of playing DDR with Yusuke and Kuwabara just would not come.

Therefore, when Yusuke called, I was a little surprised. It was four days past the little mishap after Kitagawa's, er… apprehension. Shiori was home from work, as was Hatanaka. Shuichi was off having a life somewhere, which left me alone in my room trying to figure out advanced Calculus. I understood physics just fine. What I did not care much about was the fuss that went behind it. If you throw a youkai off a fifty-meter high cliff, what will be the velocity at which he hits the ground? Enough that he flattens like a pancake and dies. What more do you need to know? Math had never been one of my favorite subjects.

"Shuichi! You have a phone cal!" Shiori called up the stairs shortly after the phone stopped ringing. I was only too happy to set my pencil aside, stretch my back, and pick up the phone. That was one nice thing about Shiori marrying Hatanaka. He had more money than she had, which meant I got a lot more stuff. Call me materialistic. I enjoyed having things. A phone on my desk was one of them.

I was immediately greeted by Yusuke's boisterous, "Yo, Kurama!"

"Hello, Yusuke." I picked up my pencil. Even Calculus was better than the thought of another mission. Not that I did not enjoy a little excitement now and then, but if we had another assignment like the last one, I wanted nothing to do with it. "What can I do for you?"

He laughed, the sound odd and tinny over the phone.

"You should hear yourself, man!" he said. Lifting his voice a few pitches, he mimicked me, "'What can I do for you?' You automatically think I want something!"

Sighing, I set my pencil down again. He had something planned. And when Yusuke planned something, it was never good.

"I don't automatically think you want something, Yusuke," I assured him. "I usually think Koenma wants something. But since you called, what _do_ you want?"

Yusuke laughed again.

"It's a party at the Yukimura Noodle House," he explained. "Celebrate the end of a week and a half of torture. Want to come?"

"You and who else?" I asked warily. Like I said, bad things usually came of Yusuke's planning.

"Kuwabara, Keiko, Shizuru, Yukina, and whoever the hell else wants to come!"

That… sounded safe. It sounded normal, like something a group of human teenagers would do socially. I did not typically engage in standard human social activities, so I could not be sure. Well, there was no time like the present to start acting like a human teenage boy.

"When?"

"Tonight," Yusuke said. He had that tone of one who wants to know why I would ask such a stupid question.

"Sounds like fun," I said. That sounded lame even to me. Yusuke noticed immediately.

"Geez, don't force yourself."

"No!" I said quickly. "I want to come. How do I get there?"

He gave me directions, which I wrote down. We said our good-byes, and I considered it. A few days ago I would have said no, but given a few days to simmer my mood had been greatly improved. I was not the type to hold a grudge. If I did that, I would have far more enemies than I already do. Besides, I usually acted quickly. If someone posed a threat, I killed him. Simple, clean, easy. No way to hold a grudge if the guy's dead, right? And not everything that annoyed me deserved death. If that was the case, Hiei would already be six feet under. In fact, so would Yusuke and Kuwabara. And let's not forget Botan and Koenma, or even Shiori. Obviously, it was ridiculous to go through life like that.

So I would go to the party. Even if Yusuke was in on whatever scheme Hiei had, I was no longer mad at him. I would go. I would have a good time. That was how it was supposed to work, right?

_

* * *

_

Shiori was absurdly pleased when I told her I was going to a party. It was just Yusuke and Kuwabara, I told her, but she would hear none of it. She barged into my room and started digging through my closet. Lucky for me I had better hiding places than my closet. The only things I kept in there were clothes and shoes. And she kept asking things. Irrelevant things. But, she was my mother, and I was obligated to answer.

"Where are you going?" She pulled out a green shirt, looked at me, shook her head, and put it back.

"Yukimura's Noodle House," I said. "It's a restaurant."

"Yes, I've heard of it," she said. "Yusuke's friend… Keiko, right? Doesn't her family own it?"

I stared at her, shocked by this display of knowledge. Even I had not known that. How was it she did? It made me wonder how much she knew about all my friends.

"Um, yes. I believe so."

"So she'll be there?"

"That's what Yusuke said."

"Any other girls?" She pulled out a white shirt, eyed me contemplatively, then set it on my bed. She went back to the closet to dig through my collection of pants.

"Yukina, maybe," I answered. I glanced at the shirt, remembering Hiei saying something about how I looked in white. "Kuwabara's sister, Shizuru. I think."

"She's pretty mature," Shiori stopped digging a moment to frown at me. "Do you think that's proper?"

Considering I had maybe a thousand years on her, I did not really consider Shizuru as too mature. Maybe compared to Yusuke or Kuwabara… I shrugged and shook my head.

"She keeps Kuwabara in line," I offered. "So he doesn't act dumb in front of Yukina."

Shiori smiled again and produced a pair of jeans.

"How about that other boy?" she asked as she handed the pants to me. "The short one with black hair. I haven't heard you talk about him much lately."

"Umm… we had a disagreement the other day," I said vaguely.

"Oh?" She sat on my bed, apparently waiting for an explanation. Oh dear. I did not relish the thought of telling my mother any of _that_.

"It's nothing," I said instead. "He was just being an idiot. I'm sure it'll pass."

"You think so?" She looked at me skeptically and went back to the closet. That look was not something I liked seeing on her face, and I wanted to know the reason behind it. "You know, you should really get rid of this jacket. That orange looks awful on you."

"Mom," I frowned at her. "You think it won't?"

"Won't what?" she asked. I could have sighed in exasperation, but I managed to suppress that desire.

"Won't pass," I clarified. "With Hiei."

"I guess that depends on the argument," she said with a knowing, motherly look. She did not give me that often, but I was not fond of it when she did. "What did you fight about?"

"Ohhhh…" It was back to that. Sneaky woman. Still, she seemed to have an inkling as to what she was talking about, so it did not hurt to get her advice. If only I could figure out how to put it. "He um… he… insulted… me." Yeesh. There was no way I was having this conversation with her. Yet my mouth opened, and I said more. Shoot. "And said some… stupid things…" I think I could have been more vague. Oh, absolutely. _Mother, Hiei said stuff. I said stuff. What do you think?_ Yes, that would help a lot. "And I…" I had made well certain he would never come back. I held a hand to my forehead, cursing myself for my display of temper. "I told him to get away from me."

Shiori was quiet. That was a bad sign. In fact, it was probably a sure sign I had effectively destroyed my friendship with Hiei. Looking up warily, I saw why she was so quiet. She was looking at me in utter shock. As if she could not believe I had done such a thing.

Crud.

That meant I was in the wrong. Didn't it?

No! Absolutely not! Hiei had no right to behave that way, and it was entirely within my rights to refuse his claim of dominance over me.

"Shuichi, what did he say to you?" she asked finally.

"Nothing!" I blurted. Wow. I don't know how humans do it. How did one go about telling his mother that his best friend was trying to court him? Not only that, but that same friend had tried to assert full control over me. Fffft. What a conundrum. "I mean, it was fine. He was worried, he was… he…" Oh, to hell with it. I looked at Shiori with all the misery I felt. "I think he likes me."

Shiori's mouth fell open. And, off all things, she started to laugh. My own mother was laughing at me! Is that even allowed?

"Oh, Shuichi! You… Hiei's gay?" she giggled, apparently thinking it was the funniest thing she had heard all day. And I was highly offended.

"I don't know! He doesn't seem to notice Yusuke, and he hates Kuwabara. It's not like he's got it written on his coat."

"Calm down, Shuichi," Shiori touched my face. Her hand was cool against my cheek, indicating I was flushed. "It's okay. Does it frighten you? Is that why you chased him off?"

I sighed. That was not at all what bothered me. It was not like I had not experimented. A thousand years is a long time to stick to one path.

"No," I sighed. "I didn't figure that out until after I yelled at him."

"Oh?" She frowned worriedly. "Shuichi, you and Hiei had been friends a long time. I'd hate to see something break you apart now."

In human terms, yes, Hiei and I had been friends for quite a long time. In comparison to my friendship with Yusuke and Kuwabara, it was old. But to me it was relatively new. To someone who is nearly immortal, five years is nothing. Both Hiei and I were still testing each other, not quite certain the friendship was worth keeping. At least, that was what I had thought until just a few days ago.

"What did he say?"

"Hm?" I frowned at the question, deciding how much was worth revealing to her. "Well, he was getting pushy. Telling me what to do. Expecting me to do it merely because he said so. He was getting…" I searched for the word, trying to define his use of 'mine' without scaring Shiori. "Possessive."

She looked at me with a single raised eyebrow.

"_Really_ possessive," I emphasized, and rather lamely at that. But I could not bring myself to add, 'so possessive he all but marked me as his territory.' Of course, if Hiei had tried that, I might just have had to kill him. At least he had enough sense not to force it. And at least I seemed to get the point across. Shiori looked sympathetic, which was not exactly what I was seeking, but it would do. Or, it would if she had any useful advice to offer.

"My poor, independent Shuichi," she murmured. Wait a minute… that did not sound very sympathetic. I squinted at her suspiciously. "It sounds like Hiei has one heck of a crush on you."

…That was it? That was her grand declaration? That was useless.

"He's been acting bizarre, Mom!" Perhaps a little more information would give her better perspective. "He went nuts when I was too close to Kuwabara—_Kuwabara!_—as if I would start making out with _him!_" Whoa. Bad mental image. I shook my head to clear that from it. Just… yuck. No offense to Kuwabara, but the day I took a romantic interest in him was the day Hiei declared himself human. "And he was complimenting me on my clothing the other day, and told me to have a good night—he _never_ does that…"

I trailed off, unpleasantly aware of how completely moronic I sounded. Shiori was smiling at me, looking as though it took every shred of willpower she possessed not to laugh. I scowled at the floor and waited for the words I did not want to hear but knew she would say.

"The world must be ending when your best friend is nice to you," she murmured.

"It is when it's Hiei," I muttered. My face felt uncomfortably warm. Damn it all, I was blushing. "I don't like it. He's not _nice_. Nice isn't Hiei."

"Shuichi, now it sounds like you're seeking out abusive relationships," Shiori said with sudden severity. I rolled my eyes and looked at her, but she was completely serious.

"Sorry," I muttered. Slouching down, I stared at the floor again. This was not really helping. I was still no closer to figuring out how to handle Hiei than I had been three days ago. "It's not like that. He's a good person. He has ways of asking… when he thinks I'm not okay… without ever actually asking." I chanced a peek at Shiori. She looked a little startled, but that was better than the anxious frown of before. Sighing, I concluded, "When he acts like this, it feels wrong. It feels false."

I picked up the clothes Shiori had chosen, tucked them under my arm, and went to straighten my desk. She had not picked out an outfit for me since I was a very small child. By the time I was five or six I had a very definite opinion as to how I would be dressed, and if she picked something I did not like, she would not get me to wear it. School uniforms did not count. I knew I would have to wear those.

It was peculiar, though, that she picked out something Hiei would like. At least, something Hiei said he liked. I did not even know. His compliments had been so forced, so completely unnatural, that I had to wonder if he had just been haphazardly picking something and commenting on it. Maybe he hated white. Maybe he liked only black. Or blue. Or red. Maybe he did not care one way or the other. That seemed the most likely possibility.

"Shuichi…"

"What?" I was a little curt with her. It was uncalled for, since she was only trying to help. But it came before I could stop it, that bitter edge to my tone.

"Do you… like Hiei as well?"

I fumbled with the books on my desk, dropping the jeans and somehow accidentally flinging my pencil across the room. Shocked, I stared at Shiori, but she just watched me. Not smiling or frowning, she waited for an answer. One that I did not have.

Did I like Hiei? As in… _like_ like? Love? I loved Shiori. Of course, it took me years to figure that one out. Years of trying to leave, trying to return to my rightful home, only to realize that I did not want that anymore. At least, I did not want it as much as I wanted to stay. But Hiei? I could live without him. I didn't need him.

Did I?

"I…" She was watching me with that inscrutable expression that I have been told I'm so good at. I do not recall her ever giving me that look before. 'Stern face' I have seen. The laughing, 'my son is so weird' expression was a common one. This one was impossible to read, though. As impossible as the question she had just asked. "I'm going to change now."

Shiori watched me for a minute longer, then just nodded and left the room. I shut the door behind her and stood quiet for awhile, staring at my hand on the doorknob. It was impossible, but somehow, between that morning and this conversation with Shiori, I had turned this situation into something much bigger than it had been.

_Do you like Hiei?_

What kind of question was that? What kind of mother asks her son if he is attracted to another boy? It was not as if I was gung-ho in the dating department, but surely she had expected me to find a girl, settle down, and pop out a few kids. It's an instinctive thing for humans. They obtain immortality through their descendents. Shiori was always worried about me not having interest in girls. Then again, my instincts were not human. Youkai already have an immortal lifespan, so the desire for siring children is a little different. And god knows what kind of children I would have. I could not imagine settling down with a human woman only to find our children inherited any unique 'gifts' from me. That would be an interesting thing to try to rationalize.

So no human women. Youkai women? No. No, no, no, and no. It was far too difficult to locate a decent woman in the Demon World in an immortal life let alone the few years which made up the prime of my human lifespan. And one which would be willing to live in the Human World for the next few decades… Nope. It was an impossible task. And I did not need female companionship quite that badly.

But Hiei! Of all people…

There was a satisfying thunk when my head hit my doorframe. This was just not my week. Boredom beyond comprehension, followed by an attack that was capable of making a person feel like the most worthless form of life on the planet, and then an ownership claim by the guy who was supposed to be my best friend. All of that topped by a sprinkling of confusing conversation with my mother made the week.

Groaning aloud, I returned to pick up the pants I had dropped. I was really looking forward to a night of the mindless conversation which tended to occur around Yusuke and Kuwabara.

_

* * *

_

It started out well. Everyone was there already. Actually, Yukina was not, and Kuwabara was heartbroken. He did not understand why she would choose to remain at Genkai's temple rather than spend the evening with her destined true love. That was what Kuwabara said, in so many words (plus some). So it was Yusuke, Keiko, Shizuru, Botan, and Kuwabara… and Keiko's parents. Considering they ran the place, I suppose it made sense. Still, it felt like we had chaperones. Not in the way that the kids would have to be careful about feeling up their girlfriends, but in that uncomfortable way that we had to take caution in our conversation topics. Demons and the Spirit World missions were off limits. Well, that left me without much to talk about. Fortunately, the others more than made up for that.

"Urameshi Yusuke! You mean to tell me you haven't done _any_ of your summer studies!" Two guesses as to who that was.

"Give me a break, Keiko! I was busy!"

"Busy! You didn't do anything! You made Kuwabara and Kurama do all the work!" Lesson one: Excuses never work.

"That's not fair! It wasn't my fault everything happened at night!"

"That's true. We set up the shifts, not Yusuke." That little insert was Botan, trying to be helpful.

"That's no excuse! You should be there for your friends!" Lesson two: Botan was never successful when it came to pacifying Keiko.

"Hello! I was there! In case no one told you, the only reason Kurama's here now is because I was there!"

"Nothing would have happened if you had been there in the first place!" Lesson three: Don't bring me into the picture. That never works either.

It seemed that this was the first time Yusuke had really spoken with Keiko since our confrontation with Kitagawa. Well, Keiko did always worry when we had potentially dangerous missions. And for the record, I would have been able to get out of there had Yusuke not arrived. Truly.

Shizuru promptly startled me by coming up behind me and slapping my back lightly. She smiled and gestured to the counter.

"There's food," she announced.

I glanced over at Yusuke again. He and Keiko were still bickering while Kuwabara stood back and laughed at Yusuke's plight. Botan pranced around, trying to get the pair to stop fighting, and having little success. It was probably safer if I did not involve myself in that, though Keiko had an odd tendency to stutter when I came into the conversation. I think she was embarrassed for some reason. Conclusion: she probably would not appreciate my arrival during this argument.

Shizuru pulled me over to a stool, and we fell into a comfortable silence, content to watch the others bicker. They went on for quite awhile. Eventually, the fighting turned to mild arguing, which slowly converted itself into laughter and goofy conversation. If you can believe it, this process took nearly two hours. Once it had settled down, though, I deemed it safe to join them. Shizuru leaned back against the counter, opting to watch from afar. I have known that she has an innate wisdom that everyone would benefit from hearing. In fact, I should have followed her lead, but no one ever accused me of being wise. Smart, yes. Wise… only compared to some.

When I came upon them and heard the latest topic of conversation, I almost turned around and returned to the counter. Again, that wisdom thing eluded me.

"…hung out in the bookstore most of the time," Yusuke was saying. He grinned and scooted over on his booth seat to make room for me. Keiko smiled and waved, and I returned the gesture. I did not say anything because Kuwabara was talking, and it was an impossible feat to interrupt him.

"Bookstore?" he blurted. "I can't believe you got Hiei in a bookstore! What'd he do? Skulk through history of wars section?"

I had to laugh at that one. If there was one thing that Hiei was not, it was a scholar. There was no doubting his intelligence, but he never went out of his way to study. Only on extraordinarily difficult jobs did he do any research. He preferred to run in cold and test his abilities. It was kind of a scary way to do things, but he was still alive, so it apparently worked well for him.

"Yeah right!" Yusuke laughed louder than any of us, even Kuwabara. (Kuwabara could be pretty loud.) "He started out just hanging out and watching through the windows. The clerk got mad and told him he had to leave if he was just going to loiter. Thought he was shoplifting but couldn't prove it."

"But Hiei's not a thief!" Keiko protested. I coughed and avoided her subsequently worried stare. "He's a good guy, right?"

"Hiei?" Kuwabara screwed his face into a dubious expression. "Sure. He's good in a… bad kind of way."

"Yeah, I told him he couldn't steal anything," Yusuke grinned at Keiko's startled blink. Botan scowled.

"He can't be stealing from humans!" she said indignantly. "Hiei knows better than that!"

Hiei knew well enough not to get caught. That, of course, I did not say aloud. I was fairly certain Hiei did not have enough interest in anything from the Human World to be bothered with stealing. Unlike some of us, he was not overly concerned with the material aspects of life.

"Yeah, he didn't," Yusuke assured her. "But he _did_ get a book. I had to buy it, but it was worth it. You won't believe what I found him looking at."

Indeed. We were all intrigued.

"This I've got to hear," Kuwabara snorted. "If you say he was reading JD Salinger…"

"Not even close," Yusuke laughed. "It was—"

I did not get to hear the rest of that because Yusuke chose that moment to reach over, flatten his hand against my face, and shove me back. It was not a pleasant experience, to say the least, nor was it very flattering. With an indignant yelp and a bit of struggling, I managed to free myself from his rude pushing. But by that time Yusuke had already told them, and I was left floundering while Kuwabara and Yusuke laughed and Keiko and Botan looked on in shock and shook with a few startled giggles.

"Yusuke!" I glared at him for that indignity. "That was not necessary."

He just offered a cheeky grin and looked back when Kuwabara, Botan, and Keiko started shooting off questions.

"You can't be—you're serious!" Keiko gasped.

"You know it!"

"_Hiei?_" Botan squeaked. "_Our_ Hiei!"

"One and the same!"

"Man, I always knew he was weird, but that's just—"

"So he's… wow!" Botan blinked several times at Yusuke. "Who?" Yusuke jerked a little, and I looked at him curiously. He caught my stare and grinned again. Botan was still shocked. "No way!"

"Does he know?" Kuwabara asked.

"Don't think so," Yusuke laughed. "He's pretty clueless about that kind of stuff, you know."

I was getting just a little annoyed by this point. Yusuke had deliberately forced me out of this conversation. Then he went on and continued talking as though I was not even there. Being separated from the conversation was not something to which I was unaccustomed, but this felt rather like being openly mocked. And that I did not appreciate.

"What did he get, Yusuke?" I asked finally.

"Oh, geez!" Botan yipped and blushed boldly. She hid her face in her hands and giggled helplessly. I frowned at her. Oh yeah. They were definitely laughing at me.

"What?" I demanded again.

"No kidding, he doesn't know!" Kuwabara was doubled over, laughing so hard it was a miracle he could even find the breath to utter that last statement.

"Hey!" This was ridiculous, and I was growing more agitated by the second. Kuwabara's latest comment implied that Yusuke's 'clueless' remark had been in reference to me. That was unacceptable.

Fortunately for Yusuke's neck, which I was inches away from crushing (he just did not know it yet), Shizuru came over and salvaged the situation. She made her entrance by crushing her latest cigarette out in the ashtray on the table between us.

"Give me your bag, Yusuke," she ordered calmly.

That shut everyone up. Still grinning, Yusuke dug under the table and produced a small satchel. Shizuru opened the bag, pulled out a book—_the book?_—and put it on the table in front of me. Apparently Yusuke was keeper of the book, and she had already known about this.

"Don't keep him in the dark," she said disgustedly. "You'll make it worse."

I picked up the book and stared at its cover, not quite registering what it read. I could not say I was overly surprised. In fact, it made perfect sense, in a peculiar, highly improbable way. Still, it was a little bit of a shock to actually have it in my hands.

_Same Sex Relationships and How to Make Them Work_

There were no words to describe what I felt at that moment. If it had been anyone else, I would have laughed. Because it was funny. This was the kind of book you passed in the store and wondered why anyone would buy it. Kind of like _Sex for Dummies_. You assumed only perverts bought that because usually by the time you reached the appropriate age, you knew how it worked.

Feeling was not even an option. Instead, I just had a lot of questions, two of which were extremely pressing at the moment.

"Yusuke."

"Uh… yeah?" he sounded nervous. As if he thought I would hurt him for this. Well, I might just yet, but only because he was hiding this from me for so long.

"How long has he had this?"

"Er… since the beginning of last week."

Since we started the mission. Hiei probably stumbled upon it the first or second day he was in the bookstore. I flipped through the first few pages, noting there were a few that had been dog-eared. I skimmed the first one.

_…always ask… make your significant other know you care…_

"Kurama?" Kuwabara sounded nervous too. Did they all think this would send me over the edge? Who was the clueless one?

"Yusuke," I said again.

"Yeah?"

"Did you have anything to do with Hiei deciding he wanted this?" Because if Yusuke had any part in it—any whatsoever—I really would beat the crud out of him. And I would use a lot of sharp objects in the process.

"I just told him he had to pay for what he got," Yusuke said, snickering softly. "'course, Hiei doesn't have human money. Let's just say he was pretty embarrassed when he showed that to me."

"I see." I did. And I felt a lot better about it. "Can I borrow this for awhile?"

Shizuru was the only one who did not show any shock at my request. Botan, unfortunately, was the first to find her voice.

"No way!" she gasped. "Kurama, I thought you liked girls!"

That did not deserve a response. She cowered down in her seat when I looked at her. Mewling, she waved her napkin about in the manner of a white flag. Yusuke spoke up quickly to save her.

"Hey, it's Hiei's book," he said. Again, that anxious little laugh. "I'm just holding it while he's in the Demon World. He doesn't want to lose it or something."

"Thank you." I paused in my page flipping. Whoa. The book had pictures. I glanced at the chapter heading and felt my insides squirm. _Intimacy_. I closed the book and stood. "Well, I think this has been an enlightening evening, if nothing else."

"You're leaving?" Keiko asked in a small voice.

"Yes," I smiled pleasantly. "Feel free to continue your mockery of this after I'm gone."

"Ouch," Shizuru murmured.

"And Yusuke," I set a light hand on his shoulder. He flinched. Apparently I was scaring him. He deserved it. "Don't offer Hiei any further romantic advice."

"Eh?" Yusuke looked up, startled by that. "Why not?"

"Because your idea of romance frightens me, Yusuke," I replied frankly. "And when your advice blows up in Hiei's face, he'll take it out on you."

Yusuke paled and nodded hurriedly.

"R-right!" he stammered. With a shaky grin, he waved. "See you later."

Shizuru linked her arm through mine and walked me to the exit. I had to like Shizuru. She always knew how things worked in the world.

"After that, you can bet this night will end quickly," she murmured.

"I can't say I much care," I replied easily. She smiled, then tapped the book I held with the end of her unlit cigarette.

"You think you'll get good advice from that book?"

"No. But I think I'll learn a little."

"About sex?" she teased.

"About Hiei," I countered wryly. "Although I'll let you look through the chapter on same-sex sex if you'd like. There are pictures."

"I think my imagination can provide plenty of images," she said, all the while looking at me slyly. "And then I don't have to look at strangers. I can picture people I know."

"Shizuru!" That was a little too much for me.

"Let's see," she adopted a thoughtful pose. "Who do I know who's drop dead gorgeous and has a thing for another guy who happens to be quite the looker?"

"Good night, Shizuru," I hastily retreated to the sidewalk.

"If you guys make any videos, I want to see them!"

I ran as fast as my feet would carry me. Just when I was getting those warm feelings about her, Shizuru always reminded me just why I found her so intimidating.

TBC…

* * *

Notes: So that book. I made it up. Doesn't exist outside of my mind… if anyone was actually thinking of looking for it… yeah. Oh, and an extra side note--this is very slightly AU... in that Yusuke really shouldn't be present for any of this but he is because it just wouldn't be the same without him.

Next Chapter: Isn't it funny how you always see something happening differently in your mind? Why can't life be so predictable?


	6. Chapter 5

Dislcaimer: See prologue.

Notes: Er... nothing today. Thanks to those who bothered to review. I do appreciate that. Although I am now puzzled over what OHCK means...

Onward!

Chapter 5

I had a plan. It was not the master of all plans. It was not the type of thing that was certain to lead to an ending that read, 'and they lived happily ever after.' It seemed impossible that either Hiei or I would survive a happily ever after. Neither of us was made for that kind of lifestyle. That would be like stating Yusuke would go on to become the top student at Tokyo U and then the CEO of the leading electronics corporation. It just was not natural let alone plausible.

I had to settle for satisfied. I could live with Hiei as a romantic interest. Given a little time, I might even be able to pair 'Hiei' and 'love' in the same sentence.

It was a curious sensation. The more I considered it, the more the idea appealed to me. Let's just step aside from the reality of all the crap I'd receive for being in a, well as the book put it, a S_ame Sex Relationship_. I did like Hiei. I knew him. He knew me. Plus, we worked well together. That was a must in any youkai relationship. All I had to do was get Hiei to come back. And I had a plan for that, too.

"Shuichi?" Shiori knocked on the door. "Are you okay?"

She had been worried ever since the abrupt end to our last conversation.

"Fine, Mom," I said sincerely.

"Okay…" she sounded dubious. "Well, what are you doing?"

That one was a little difficult to answer. I looked down at the book on my desk. It was a mess of bold-print notes.

"Reading," I said.

"Okay." That seemed to satisfy her. "Well, dinner will be ready soon."

"I'll be down in a bit."

Plus, I would have to tell Shiori. From what I could tell, she would be accepting of it. Still, it was never easy to tell your mother how you were planning to date another boy. Oh, and might I mention that boy is a demon? He's older than you, Mom. I would leave that part out.

* * *

_Same Sex Relationships and How to Make Them Work_ went back to Yusuke, just as I had promised. (Yes, I am aware I never actually said I would return it, but with the use of the word 'borrow' that is implied.) Yusuke took it back with a good-natured grin.

"Hiei came back for this the other day, you know," he said when I handed him the book. "I had a heck of a time figuring out a way to tell him I didn't have it on me."

"Did you tell him I had it?" That seemed the logical thing to do, but then Yusuke defied all logic.

"Er… no," Yusuke scratched his cheek nervously. "I told him Kuwabara was borrowing it."

Well. I had nothing to say to that.

"Hiei thought it was funny," Yusuke offered.

Of course Hiei thought it was funny. He probably could not wait to tell Yukina. Poor Kuwabara. With Yukina's naiveté, that might set him back a little.I could see where Hiei would take immense pleasure in that.

"Yes, I imagine he would," I said aloud.

"Uh, Kurama?" Yusuke squinted at the book in his hands. "This feels a little light. Is—"

"It's exactly how it should be," I assured him. He closed his mouth and nodded. "Thank you, Yusuke. I appreciate you doing this."

"No problem," he grinned awkwardly. "But, um… just so we're clear… and so Kuwabara will get off my back about it… You're not… you're not a guy chaser, are you?"

That one was laugh-worthy. I smirked at him.

"Why, Yusuke," I murmured. "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"What? No!" Yes. "I mean, I don't care if you and Hiei are… you know… just so you're not…"

"Trying to woo you?" I offered. He choked on a mix of various disgusted noises. I did laugh then. "Yusuke, I'm not remotely interested in you that way. Or Kuwabara. I'm still not sure I can handle the concept of liking _Hiei_, so rest assured—"

"Got it, got it!" Yusuke waved off the rest of my explanation. "Hey, I had to ask Hiei, too."

"Was that the day you had that limp?" I inquired curiously, trying not to laugh again. Asking another guy that kind of question was dangerous at best. Asking _Hiei_…

"I never pegged Hiei as the shin-kicking type," Yusuke grimaced.

Neither had I, for that matter. When I tried to bring forth that image, all I got was a cartoonish little Hiei scowling and kicking an equally cartoonish Yusuke in the knee. The tiny Yusuke then hopped around wildly, and little censors blocked out his curses. Well that was just wrong.

"He kicked you?" I asked blankly.

"Right in the bookstore."

"Oh." That would explain Hiei's restraint. Had they been in a less public setting, Yusuke would probably be missing a limb. The detective had better luck than anyone I knew. "Well. I have to go now. Shiori wants me to take Shuichi shopping for school supplies."

"Aren't you just the good big brother!" Yusuke immediately latched onto that, no doubt eager to forget his embarrassment over being kicked by Hiei. "But isn't Shuichi old enough to do that himself?"

"Old enough to shop for himself, maybe, but not responsible enough to hold his dad's credit card," I retorted with a grin. Of course I would not go spending like crazy, but it was a tempting idea. I could fantasize a little. There were plenty of things out there I would not have minded owning.

"See you around, Kurama."

I nodded and turned to leave. Then, thinking of something rather disturbing, I hesitated and looked back.

"You _are_ planning to see Hiei again, aren't you?"

"Even if I wasn't, I could always drop this off at Genkai's," Yusuke smiled suggestively. "He's always stopping in to check up on _Yu-ki-na_."

While Yusuke's contact with Hiei was convenient at the moment, it was also somewhat aggravating. Unfair, really. But that was none of my business, so I held my tongue. I would not turn into a jealous boyfriend.

Assuming that ever happened. I mean, _boyfriend_ was not the term for it. Close companion was probably better. Or temporary allies who just might have something of a physical attraction to each other.

But not boyfriend.

* * *

The summer passed, and I did not see Hiei again. There were two possible explanations for this: either Hiei was very busy in the Demon World, or I had chased him away.

The two very different possibilities made for a tense situation. I despised not knowing. That, more than anything else, nearly drove me mad that summer. If I could just pick the right one, then I could choose an appropriate response. If Hiei was being kept busy with his duties, then I could expect that he would make an appearance. I could prepare for confrontation. But if Hiei was never coming back, then I would be able to forget about this whole convoluted mess and move on. I could prepare for an independent lifestyle. The hope of a lasting friendship would be dropped because I did not like the feeling of abandonment anymore than the next person.

Since I could not pick just one for the risk of the other one occurring, I compromised. I considered every possible angle to every possible scenario should he return and simply expected that he never would. It sounds screwy and just slightly impossible, but I managed. At least, I tried to tell myself that. It was hard to keep lying to myself when every little tap against the window made me jump, and every time Shuichi burst into my room with last-minute homework questions I about hit the ceiling. Anxious to see Hiei? Me? Naaaaahhhh.

So the remaining weeks of summer went by at a painfully slow crawl. To pass the time I went to the park a lot and read every book I could locate. My classmates caught wind of my regular presence in public and decided to torment me by invading my privacy at every opportunity. I learned more about half the girls and boys in my class that summer than I had the two years I spent going to Meiou High previously.

To save my sanity, I started hanging out on rooftops instead. It was not as nice as the park, but at least it was quiet. No one suspected perfect Minamino of being a skulker.

It figured that Hiei, for all his usual predictability, chose the most unlikely time to return. Two weeks into the school year he made his appearance. Not only that, but he chose to do it in the middle of the night, on a school night.

There I was, sleeping peacefully, when I sensed some youki not my own getting uncomfortably close. I didn't typically sleep on a hair-trigger—I never did in Shiori's house—but neither was I a heavy sleeper. I had to be exhausted or in a forced slumber to remain unconscious when other demons were around, even when that other demon was Hiei.

And poor Hiei did not seem to know this because, for the second time, he snuck up on me while I was asleep. Since there was no tree in my bedroom, he ended up with a face full of carpet. I was on his back and shoving his head hard against the floor before I realized he was not an enemy.

"Hiei!"

Somehow I had the sense to keep my voice down. After all, Shiori, Hatanaka, and Shuichi were all in the house and sleeping. It would have been a miracle if none of them had heard the sound of us hitting the floor. The last thing I wanted was for them to think I was under attack.

I rolled to the side so Hiei could rise.

"What are you doing!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he hissed back at me. Thankfully, he kept his voice lowered as well. "Aside from getting rug burn!"

"So you thought sneaking up on me while I was sleeping was a _good_ ide—"

"Shuichi?" Whoops. It seemed that the noise had woken someone. It was Hatanaka knocking on my door. Frantic, I pointed at the closet.

"In!" I whispered.

"_What?_"

"_Now!_" I gave him a shove. Just as he disappeared into the closet and I tipped my book bag over, Hatanaka poked his head in. I quickly set about picking up the books I had just dumped.

"Shuichi, are you okay?"

Thank nature for darkness because my smile had to be so completely false at that moment that even Hatanaka would not have fallen for it.

"Yes, sir," I said quickly. "I just tripped over my bag on my way to the bathroom." Which meant I was going to have to make a quick run to the bathroom. "Sorry to have worried you."

"Not at all," Hatanaka chuckled, then yawned. "I just wanted to be sure you were safe." Don't I just have the greatest stepdad in the world? Not only did Hatanaka have money, but he was nice. I had half expected the other shoe to drop when Shiori married him. For awhile I had waited for his abusive side to show, but it never did. Plus, Shiori was happy. You just can't buy that kind of life. "Be careful where you put your books from now on."

"Yes, sir, I will. Good night."

"Good night, Shuichi."

I finished picking up my books, hurried to the bathroom, flushed the toilet and made my way back to Hiei. Closing the door tight behind me, I found he had already made himself at home sitting on my bed.

"To what do I owe this midnight visit?" I asked finally. "Or do you just enjoy scaring the heck out of me while I'm sleeping?"

"I never knew you to be so jumpy," he replied sarcastically.

"You must admit, the past couple of times were under rather shocking circumstances," I countered. Finding my desk chair, I reclined back to let my heart finally settle into its normal rate. "What can I do for you, Hiei?"

He reached into his cloak, pulled out something, and threw it at me. I heard the rustle of pages and recognized the object before I snatched it out of the air.

"You mutilated my book," Hiei said bluntly.

"Yusuke paid for it," I retorted. "Doesn't that make it his book?

He was quiet for awhile. It was an expected silence. The situation was pretty awkward after all. But he did eventually speak.

"I would ask how you've been, but the notes said not to," he murmured. That was a copout if I ever heard one. He was avoiding the issue. Well, I could also do that.

"I'd tell you how I've been if I thought you wanted to know," I said.

"I do." Huh. Didn't expect that one.

"I've been a little stressed. You know how it is."

"I think I know less than I thought I did."

Damn. This was not going how it was supposed to go. That's the problem with running most likely scenarios through your head. People were way too unpredictable. Even Hiei surprised me. Not to mention he confused me a bit with that backwards statement.

"That's fair enough since I've been informed that I'm clueless as well." Yes, and that remembered comment still stung. I was letting the conversation run in circles. The point of it was to get Hiei to take some responsibility in it, but he was resisting.

"You are, but that's not really the issue."

"Flattery tends to work better than insults in these situations, Hiei."

"You don't like it when I flatter you." Damn. He had me there.

"Fair enough," I allowed. "Stop beating around the bush, Hiei. Say what you came to say."

"You're a cold son-of-a-bitch who doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself," he announced. If that was meant to sting, he needed to try harder.

"That's great, Hiei." He was not telling me anything I had not already heard. I would be very disappointed if he pulled the old brokenhearted ex-lover (who never attained status of lover in the first place) routine. "Anything else you'd like to share?"

"Nothing I say will make you understand what I… what I feel," he continued. He faltered when mentioning feelings, but that was normal for Hiei. This was probably not an easy conversation for him. And pulling that kind of stunt made me smile. He was getting cold feet.

"Are you sure?" I asked mildly. "I'm a rational creature, Hiei. I'm certain I could figure it out."

"It has nothing to do with rationality, idiot," Hiei growled, growing irritated. That was good. We were back on familiar grounds. A surly Hiei worked better for my methods. "You think you can just write a few notes in a book and say that's how it's going to work, but you don't want any of this crap."

Ah, my rewriting of his book. Yes, I spent several hours poking through what had caught his interest and revising it. It was more difficult that it seemed at first, and for the very reason Hiei just stated.

"You think I want anything that author wrote?" I challenged. "You're accusing me of being too rational, but you're following directions from a book written by a human. Hypocrite."

Hiei snarled at me for that one. If there was one thing he hated it was hypocrisy, so to accuse him of it was not a light matter. But he always let me get away with these things, and he had no excuse now because I had a point—a good one. Kurama: three. Hiei: one.

"What the hell do you want from me?" he blurted suddenly. "What do I have to do? Or should I just quit while I'm ahead?"

"Oh, don't quit now, Hiei." I glared at him for that last comment. That was sinking to rejected lover, and that had not happened yet. "You actually have to be ahead to do that. And you're way behind."

"Then what do you want!" he demanded, voice lifting to dangerous volumes. People were going to hear us.

"I want you to lower your voice," I cautioned. His mouth snapped shut, and he stood in blatant aggravation. That was my sign to pick up the pace. This was going to be ruined if he left. I was a good tracker, but Hiei was faster. Even if I caught up with him, I would have to catch him unawares or lose him forever. I'd survive, but I really did not want that. "Look, Hiei. I'm usually pretty straightforward when it comes to dating. I just want to know what you want."

"What _I_ want," he echoed incredulously. Why he sounded so surprised baffled me. It was a simple question. But it seemed that he was going to make me explain. Sighing impatiently, I leaned back in my chair and gestured toward him vaguely.

"If you're just looking for a fling, you don't need all the foreplay. I can accommodate," I said. "We'll just lay down some terms now and find a slightly more private place than my bedroom while my parents sleep down the hall.." He had the oddest expression on his face. I resisted rolling my eyes. Hiei had been alive long enough to know how this worked. Surely this was not so shocking to him. "You game?"

"You think I would go through all that embarrassment if I just wanted to sleep with you?" He was back to growling, but his cheeks were red.

"Well why not, Hiei? You wouldn't be the first person to make a fool of himself for a little tail. Not even the first for mine." Not even the first in the Human World, if I really wanted to push it. Of course, none of those girls had ever tried to throw me over a bench.

Hiei laughed then. It was brief, a low bark of amusement. I frowned. Of the two of us, I was relatively certain he was not the one who should be laughing. He maintained this confidence when he moved back into the room.

It was a challenge. He stalked right over to my chair and stood over me, smirking when I leaned back to hold his gaze. But he did not stop there. No, not Hiei. He probably realized I would not be impressed by that, so he upped the intimidation factor a bit. Reaching past me, he leaned against the desk, bringing us almost literally nose-to-nose.

"This is nice, Hiei," I murmured, eyeing his arms warily. Yes, I was feeling just a little closed in. He probably would not make any further move against me, but it was difficult to get past the anti-cage instinct. "Cozy."

"Let's get a few things straight, Kurama," he said bluntly.

"Oh good," I smiled. "Finally down to business."

My good humor flew out the open window the instant he grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back. So shocked was I that I forgot to stifle my shout. Fortunately—or not so fortunately, however one looked at it—Hiei had anticipated this, because he did it for me. The pained cry was muffled by his palm.

"If I just wanted some tail, this is how easily I could take yours, you stupid fox," he hissed. Son. Of. A. _Bitch_. I was going to seriously hurt him for this. As soon as he let me go. As it happened, my struggles were nothing to him. I should have known that. Let it never be said that Hiei is weak. Because he's not. Physically speaking, he's got enough power in him to put Kuwabara out for a week with one punch. And I believe we've already established that I didn't have that. But I did have some success. He was going to have to repair his cloak. "Don't ask me why because I hate you. You're as irritating as a fox can get, and believe me I've met a few."

At the moment, I despised him as well. I would have hated anyone had they decided to make an attempt at yanking half of my hair from my scalp. Not only did he have a strong punch, but he had a grip strong enough to make my eyes water. Maybe I _had_ gone a little overboard with the teasing, but this was completely unwarranted.

"Don't like that, do you fox?" The little bastard was taunting me. "I _know_ you'd hate me if I just took what I wanted."

_Do it and die, you son of a bitch!_ The words came mostly muffled, but he understood well enough. He smirked at me and nodded.

"Maybe I should," he said. Dear god. He wouldn't. No, it went against everything Hiei ever believed in. Still, it never hurt to try to escape when someone said something like that to you. "Afraid now? This is what I knew would happen."

I snarled at him, beyond furious. If he was smart he'd keep a good grip, because if he gave me an opening I was going to do more than just injure him. I was going to make sure he regretted ever threatening me in this manner.

"Do you understand now, Kurama?" he asked. I understood he was still just as psychotic as ever. I told him that in so many curses. "When I want something, I take it. That's how I operate. It's got nothing to do with rationality."

That I knew. Hiei had always been a kill first, ask questions later kind of guy. Impulsive. Not usually _this_ impulsive. Something I said must have really set him off.

"But _you_." And just in case I did not know who he meant when he said 'you' he shook me roughly. Yes, it hurt. "You're all about rationality. Everything you ever do has purpose. You don't know _how_ to act on impulse."

He let go. Abruptly, he released me and backed well out of arm's reach. If I had been capable of doing much more than holding my head and panting for breath, I might have found some amusement in that action.

"You say I'm a hypocrite for buying a book made for rational minds," he continued. My head was starting to pound, and I glared at him. For once, he met my eyes, his own gaze confident and defiant. "If that's what I needed to understand how you work, I found nothing wrong with trying it."

What? Now that made no sense at all. Still rubbing the back of my skull, I stared at him uneasily. He had thrown off my entire sense of balance by attacking me, and it left me a little behind in this whole 'love' conversation. It could have been wishful thinking, but I was under the impression that these kinds of arguments were less violent.

"Wh-what?"

"You're doing this wrong, Kurama," he said frankly. "I already know what I want."

Which was what I had been asking before… right?

"What's that?" I mumbled, growing irritable. This was not fair. He was not supposed to be able to turn the tables on me. I had been perfectly in control until he returned to the primitive physical.

"You."

"Right…" I guess I already knew that. It was kind of interesting to hear it said aloud, though. "And this Stone Age, drag-your-mate-around-by­-the-hair bit is your way of showing affection."

"It got your attention."

He had a point there. I did not fully approve, but he had a point.

"So what now, Hiei?" I was asking the same basic question I had induced him to ask not so long ago.

"What do _you_ want, Kurama?" he asked.

"What do I—?"

"You keep throwing out options, as if you don't care what happens." Hiei was not inherently taciturn, but he was being very talkative here. Interesting how that was working against me. "And if you don't care, then there's no point in taking this any further. So what do you want?"

And to that, I had no good answer. Hiei watched me flounder, no doubt taking great pleasure in my inability to produce a response. After awhile he was less amused. Time passed quickly, but it must have been longer than I thought because Hiei was growing impatient. He shook his head and turned to leave.

That was good. I did not need someone who would brutalize me every time he wanted to make a point. Had I not had that conversation with Shiori? She was worried I was seeking abusive relationships. This was for the best.

Telling myself that did little to ease the intense pain which settled into my gut when he left. I stared at the window—empty—barely able to breathe.

"Hiei…?"

This was _not _okay. I was not sure why, but I did not want him to leave. That was completely unacceptable. I would not allow it to happen.

"Hiei!" Shouting out the window was not going to get me anywhere. Hiei would be well out of earshot by now. But what the hell, I shouted again anyway. "_Hiei!_"

Cursing under my breath, I doubled back to my door. Ironically, I tripped over the bag I had moved earlier, spilling the books and hurting my foot in the process.

"Damn it!" Kicking the books out of my way, I finally made it to my door. Time was moving too swiftly for me. For every moment I took to get to the front door Hiei was getting that much further away. And, of course—_of course_—I slammed into another barrier in the hallway.

"Shuichi!" It was Hatanaka again. "Hold up, son. Where's the fire?"

"It's running away!" I blurted, pushing past him. But he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Let go!" I contemplated tearing free, but then I saw Shiori's pale face, peering at me from behind my stepfather.

"Shuichi!" she was equally startled by my behavior. Probably because I had never thrown such a fit in her presence before. At least, not since I was a small boy. "What's wrong?"

"He's leaving!" I was yelling, but she did not seem fazed. She just blinked, and then I said, "Hiei!" and she gasped.

"Let him go, Kazuya," she said quietly. I had no words to thank her for that instantaneous understanding. She just smiled. Somehow, no matter how well I hid from her, she always knew what exactly was going on.

"Shiori—!"

"It's okay," she touched his arm, and he released me.

I did not stay to hear the rest of what she told him. I was down the stairs, into my shoes, and out the door. Flying down the sidewalk, shouting his name, I made a real nuisance of myself. We did live in a nice neighborhood, and I doubt anyone appreciated the noise I made. But at the moment I hardly cared. I called his name again and followed his youki trail until I lost him.

TBC...

* * *

Notes: Still nothing to say... Um... Review please?

Next chapter: Kitagawa is dead. But the case is not quite over...


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: See first Chapter

**Notes**: Sorry for the delay. This chapter has been uploaded for ages, but fanfiction-dot-net and my internet server had a disagreement, and that's as far as the chapter went. In actuality, the story is complete. I just have to locate the rest of it now, and everyone who wants to can read it. So now, for anyone who can remember what the story is even about...

Onward.

Chapter 6

Now, I have never been one for violent outbursts, but that night had to be one of the most frustrating I had ever experienced. It was near dawn by the time I gave up, probably five hours after leaving the house. Surely it was understandable, then, that I took my frustration out on the nearest inanimate object I could find. It happened to be a park bench. (Two days later Shiori pointed at a picture of a mutilated bench and made a comment about how sad the day was when gangs started vandalizing even those.)

I wound up on the side of a quiet road, tearing at my hair and bemoaning my own foolish loss. As the sun rose, people started moving about in their houses. It occurred to me that I was sitting in the middle of an unfamiliar neighborhood wearing only my pajamas. Not only that, but since I had stopped running around I noticed how cold it was, and my pajamas consisted of only thin cotton pants and a tee shirt. It was no longer summer, and in the damp dawn hours the air was cooler than what was comfortable.

Walking home was not unfeasible, but it would take a few hours. By that time I ran the risk of encountering students on their way to school—some of whom I might recognize. My reputation was not that important to me, but I did not care to explain the circumstances.

The closest familiar place was Yusuke's. Even then, it was a good thirty minute walk to his place, and I was truly exhausted by the time I knocked on his door. His mother answered.

Interestingly enough, this was the first time I had ever encountered Ms. Urameshi. I had seen her a few times, but never had I actually met her face-to-face. She was taller than she looked from afar, maybe just a little shorter than Kuwabara. I don't know why that surprised me, but it did. That, and her reaction to my arrival.

She looked me up and down first, then leaned forward and looked into my face suspiciously.

"You look a little young," she remarked. "I told them no kids!"

I stared at her uncertainly. Whatever she was talking about, I was pretty sure I did not want to know any details.

"Is Yusuke home?" I asked warily.

"Yusuke?" she blinked slowly, then looked me over again. "Oh, he didn't do that to you, did he? He's a little disrespectful, but Yusuke doesn't rough up kids who can't fight back."

I must have really looked bad for that woman to notice. With her bleary-eyed gaze, I was willing to bet she was hung over. Sure, I had been running all over town in my pajamas right after sleeping and having Hiei fix my hair for me, but it couldn't have been _that _bad.

Yusuke appeared in the hallway, mostly dressed and holding a comb. I could have passed off my bad appearance as Ms. Urameshi's bad eyesight until that point.

"Mom? Who was th—holy crap! Kurama! Who beat you up?"

His mother looked at me again, shrugged, and stepped aside to let me in. I kicked off my shoes and tolerated Yusuke's worried hovering for a moment. All the while, Ms. Urameshi was pacing around uncertainly, offering tea and muttering about unexpected guests.

"No one beat me up, Yusuke," I assured him. "It was just a rough night."

"No kidding!" he waved off his mother's attempts at courtesy and ushered me back to his room. "You look like the waking dead. Considering I used to be dead, I'm an expert on that."

Yes. Twice. But I did not comment on that.

"So what brings you around here?" Yusuke threw a blazer at me, which I pulled on with a grateful nod. The shoulders were too broad and the sleeves a little short, but if no one looked closely it would pass. That, or they would think I was poor. A pair of pants hit me in the face, and I eyed them dubiously before changing out of my cotton pants into those. Surprisingly, they were long enough. They were probably way too long for Yusuke.

"Just wandering the neighborhood," I said vaguely. I dragged my hand over my eyes wearily. More than anything else at the moment, I wanted to sleep. Though I had probably had more strenuous nights in the past, this one had drained me completely.

"In your PJs?" Yusuke asked skeptically.

"You know how I love a midnight stroll," I murmured and offered a weak grin. He was not buying it.

"Yeah, when you look like shit," he snapped. "You're a long ways from your house, Kurama."

I sighed.

"I was looking for Hiei," I admitted. "He… left."

"He _left?_" Yusuke demanded. "But he said—" He cut off, looking sheepish. Good old Yusuke, love consultant to the demons. Apparently Hiei had confided in him. But that was their business, so I did not press the issue.

"It didn't go well," I said instead. "I didn't give him the answers he wanted… so he left."

"So you're out chasing him all over town?" Yusuke asked incredulously. "You think that would do any good? Why didn't you go to the Demon World?"

"He never left this world," I shook my head wearily. I would have noticed if he had escaped through a Demon World portal. In fact, I checked there first. That was part of the reason it had taken me so long to get this far. "I don't know where he went. He hid his trail very well."

"And now you're over here skipping school?" Yusuke grimaced and shook his head. "Sounds like you screwed up, Kurama."

"Apparently so." He looked at me darkly, then sighed and shrugged.

"So what do you want?"

"Nn," I winced at the question. There it was again. Of course, Yusuke did not mean it in the same context as Hiei had, but it still stung to hear it.

"You okay?"

"I'm just tired," I smiled to reassure him. He did not need me loading my problems off on him. Nor did I have any particular desire to share them. "You mind if I stay here awhile? I'll be gone before you're back from school."

"With you here?" Yusuke grinned. "Hell if I'm going to school! Not when I've got an excuse to skip."

"Yusuke…" That was a bad habit to get into. He was going to flunk out of high school if he did not watch it. It was a miracle he had gotten into one in the first place.

"Yeah, yeah," he glowered at me. "Party crasher. How about you stay all day? You look like you could use it. I'll tell Kuwabara to get you some better clothes, and we can hang out and discuss your love life tonight."

"Oh, that sounds grand, Yusuke," I muttered. He grinned, knowing full well I did not mean that. The last thing I wanted to do was discuss my relationship failings with Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"See you later, then."

"Later." Much later, if I had anything to say about it. Seeing his grin when he left, I knew I would not be waiting for his return. However, Yusuke's pillow looked too inviting to ignore. I took a long nap before sneaking out while his mother wasn't looking.

* * *

I'll admit it. I was moping. After leaving Yusuke's place (and making a mental note to thank him somehow… I'd work out the details of that out later) and stopping at home to change into properly fitting clothes, I spent the rest of the day searching the city for Hiei.

It was not an easy task. Hiei was smart. If he truly did not want me to find him, then I wouldn't. Simple as that. I could brag and say the same, but with his Jagan, Hiei had this disturbing tendency to be able to find anyone, anywhere, anytime. If I felt like putting magical seals over all my powers and living out the rest of my days as weaker than human, I might be able to elude his eye. Since I did not have a Jagan, or have any desire to get one, I was stuck with the traditional methods. That is, I had to use my eyes and search for his youki on my own. I considered asking Kuwabara for help since he was more adept at finding things, but that put me back at sharing the problems of my love life with him and Yusuke. So I did it alone.

It must have been two hours past nightfall by the time I returned home. No one said anything when I trudged past the sitting room and up the stairs to my room. There were a few vibes of annoyance from Hatanaka, but those were easily ignored. Shuichi was in his room, so he did not notice my entrance until my door closed. No sooner had I sat on my bed, then he poked his head in my room curiously.

"Shuichi?"

Glancing away from the dark scene of our street, I met his worried gaze and inquired as to what he wanted with a rather listless, "Hmm?"

"Where were you today?"

"Out," I replied flatly. As in it was none of his business. But he knew that. I let him have his secrets, and he let me have mine. That was how we got along. When he grew invasive, I let him know I did not approve. Likewise, he got a little huffy when I pried into something he preferred to keep to himself.

"You sounded mad last night." He frowned anxiously. "When you were talking to your friend."

He had heard us. That was either frightening or infuriating. I was not sure which. Considering how inappropriate it would be to kill my stepbrother, frightening seemed the better option. I settled for wary caution.

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping," I murmured.

"You were yelling at him, Shuichi," he said stiffly. That brought me up short. Yelling? I had only started yelling once Hiei left. Of course, Shuichi knew who Hiei was, so it made sense that he would draw the conclusion that he had been here… since I was not in the habit of hollering people's names at top decibel in the middle of the night. Well, there had been that one night when Shuichi thought it would be funny to sneak up on me while I was sleeping. Hatanaka and Shiori were less than amused when our shouting woke them. But in this case, it seemed that the only thing Shuichi knew was what happened after Hiei was gone.

Shiori looked in around Shuichi. Gee. Everyone was visiting me tonight. Not _Hiei_, but everyone else…

"Did you find him?"

Shuichi looked at her blankly, then turned his expectant gaze back to me. I looked at him with as much disapproval as I could muster. Shiori was one thing, but this really was not Shuichi's concern. So with some grumbling and a little nudging from Shiori, Shuichi shuffled away. After he had gone, Shiori closed the door and came to sit beside me. She waited patiently, not repeating her question though I took a few minutes to answer. I did so with a heavy sigh.

"No."

"Shuichi…" she echoed my sigh. Reaching over, she rubbed my arm. It was oddly comforting. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." That one came automatically. I always told her everything was fine. When I had a hole in my stomach and was limping around for a few days, I told her I had bruised my side in gym class, and that it was fine. And no, I did not need to see a doctor. She had been leery then, but she usually let me slide by on poor excuses. That, and she was still recovering from her own bout with sickness and was incapable of pressing me to do anything.

Her eyes were on me. She did not believe me. There were other signs than the staring. The big one was how she kept edging closer. Closer she crept until her arm was around my shoulders. I sighed again and glared out the window, cursing the darkness and my weakness. That was what caused this, after all. If I was better—stronger, faster—I would have found him.

"I didn't want him to leave," I admitted eventually.

"I know."

I scoffed a bit at that, but she squeezed my shoulders and swatted at my arm lightly.

"I know, Shuichi," she repeated. "You think I'm just a dumb woman—"

"No!" I most certainly did not!

"You do," she laughed a little at my indignant response. "I think all teenagers think their parents are dumber than dirt."

"I don't," I mumbled. She laughed again and ruffled my hair.

"Regardless. You think I don't see these things," she insisted. "But I know you. I know how you act around the kids at school." She said that like it was a bad thing. I was perfectly civil to all of them. Then, her voice warmed. "And I know how you act around your other friends—Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara." I had some doubts about that, but if she said so… "It's different. And you know what I think?"

Once upon a time I might have said yes, but I had long since learned that, when it came to Shiori, I was usually wrong. It must have been the fact that she was human. Or female.

"I think you care for them," she said. "You boys are like brothers. I've never seen anything like it."

"It's not—"

"And I know Hiei cares for you more than that."

"Mom…" The comfort factor had dropped. A lot.

"You know it," she continued right over my complaint. "And you still want him to stay. Maybe you care for him more than you think."

I squinted at her out of the corner of my eye. She was being pretty straightforward about this. Most parents would have problems with it, but she barely faltered. Surely that was unusual.

She smiled and stood. Ruffling my hair again, she walked to the door. There, she stopped and fixed a stern look on me.

"Think about it," she ordered. She left.

And I thought about it.

* * *

The problem with thinking is that it does not always directly coincide with actual progress. I could think until my eyes crossed, but unless Hiei's train of thought ran parallel to mine, it wasn't going to get me anywhere. That was the dilemma as I returned to school and plodded through the next few days.

Yusuke called and gave me a piece of his irritated and less-than-coherent mind. I apologized, then flat out told him I didn't want to discuss my troubles with him. He was like the puppy who got kicked after that, and I had to apologize again. Apologize and treat him to an action flick. In hindsight, I think he was conning me. At least my conscience was cleared, along with my wallet. It might not have been so bad, but Kuwabara declared himself equally wounded and weaseled his way in on my tab. Those were some great friends I had.

Life went on as usual. The world kept turning even when I wanted it to stop and take care of my problems before anything else was done. Unfortunately, that never happened. I kept hunting for Hiei every moment I got. When Sunday rolled around, I even shot out to Genkai's, but Yukina said she had not seen him in well over a week. It was not much help to me unless she had spoken with him since after our last encounter.

I was getting discouraged. Shiori noticed right away and tried to cheer me. She even had Hatanaka come and give me one of those "man-to-man talks" that I'd heard so much about but had never experienced. It was full of awkward silences and nervous hand-rubbing on Hatanaka's behalf. I still don't know what he was trying to tell me. He must have known that by the blank stares he received the entire time. Fortunately, he finally decided that dinner was overdue in coming, and the talk ended.

By the end of the next week, I was beginning to expect Hiei would not be coming back. That notion was ridiculous. It had only been a week… or two. The last time I saw him, several weeks had passed between visits. Nevertheless, the feeling grew. Like a dark, devouring tumor, it threatened to consume me.

"Minamino?"

"Eh?" Even so far that my attention was slipping in class. My classmates looked at me worriedly whenever the teacher caught me ignoring him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The teacher frowned at me but made no comment. Instead, he held up a slip of paper.

"You have a pass to the office," he said.

My stomach bottomed out. That was what was called a _conditioned response_ I believe. The last time I was called to the office, it was so they could tell me Shiori had collapsed at work. Otherwise I was a decent enough student—not even decent, but best!—that I never saw the principal's office. Naturally, I thought the worst.

Gathering my books, I took the pass and walked out of the room. There was a long moment of nausea, but I forced that down and glanced at the slip of paper in my hand. It just had my name on it and a brief note explaining I was excused to go to the principal's office. Just like last time, except then they had called me over the intercom. Minamino Shuichi, please report to the office.

It was a bit of a relief then, when I found someone other than a police officer in the office. Well, that's not entirely true. The guy looked like a police officer. He even dressed like one. But anyone with a handle on reiki (or youki in my case) would have seen what he really was.

Then it occurred to me how precarious _this_ situation could potentially be. It was not as though I could yank out my rosewhip and take the guy out in the school office.

I stopped in the doorway, eyeing the so-called officer and waiting for the principal to motion me in.

"Ah! Minamino!" the man was a friendly guy. I rarely saw him, but from what I knew people liked him. Unless they were in his office to be suspended. "Come in. This is Officer Minamigawa. He said it was urgent he speak with you." The principal paused then, glancing at the man (_demon_, my mind whispered) in mild disapproval. "Though he has not disclosed any details."

Of course he hadn't. Even as the demon stood and faced me, I was taking full stock of the situation. The name was a big tip-off as to who he was, not to mention the way his body filled out from the waist down. The principal did not see this. He probably only saw an average-looking man of thirty. And he had not met this demon's kin.

"Minamino, I need you to come with me," he told me. Perfectly pleasant, this guy. The warning bells were practically shrieking. It would be a bad idea to follow this… Minamigawa anywhere. I decided it would be better to remain in a more public setting.

"I'd rather not," I said stiffly. "What is this about?"

He looked annoyed. Apparently he thought I was naïve enough to take his hand and follow like a dumb puppy.

"I have a few questions to ask you," he said finally. "About a Kitagawa Kenichi."

So that was it. In this situation, it was irritating being right. Damn it, but these demons were so predictable. Kitagawa. Minamigawa. They had to be related. Siblings, perhaps. And he was exacting some sort of revenge? That brought up an interesting question: Why was he going after me? Yusuke was the one that killed Kitagawa. I just got thrown around a bit.

"Kitagawa? Never heard of him," I stated. A bald-faced lie, but I was very good at that.

"Is that so?"

It felt like every eye in the school was on me. In reality, it was only the principal and the demon, but that was enough. This kind of thing could ruin me. If people started connecting dead bodies to me, whether or not I was involved—it hardly mattered—I was going to be the source for gossip and a target for, I hated to think it but, hazing. It was a sad world when I was dodging not only demons but the humans as well.

Not only that, but he was getting closer. On his feet, he approached me while I edged back toward the door. The door which had, regrettably, closed behind me.

"Mr. Minamigawa," I said reasonably. "I'm a little confused. Maybe if you tell me why you think I know this Kitagawa person and what knowing him means—"

His hand closed around my arm. That was bad. He was looking at me with a predatory smirk, but his back was to the principal, so all I could do was stand there and let him grab me.

"I'd like to take you in for questioning," he said darkly. Oh, that was bad. Nope. I was not leaving this office. I refused to be alone with a demon who had it in for me. Especially this kind of demon. I knew what the last one had been able to do, and I had sworn I would never face that again. Or if I did, I would kill it before it could hurt me. So far, that plan was not working.

"For what?" I demanded. "I haven't done any—_ow!_"

Something jabbed into my arm. It was strange, considering most people's palms were not usually that sharp. Well that settled it. This was harassment, which meant I could retaliate without fear of being persecuted. And if I kept my voice low enough, I could do some threatening without the principal ever knowing about it.

"Let go of me," I growled.

Minamigawa smirked and pulled his hands away, holding them up as if to say he was completely innocent of wrongdoing. That was a bad sign. I expected more resistance than that, or at the very least some insults before he released me.

A quick glance informed me that little damage had been done to my arm. The sleeve of my uniform was torn, and there were some bloodspots on it, but it did not look dangerous.

"You know, I'm used to people doing what I want, Minamino," Minamigawa remarked. I stared at him. This was really beginning to worry me. I touched my sore arm. He had done something. It had to be more than just cutting me. That had to have been a distraction. He was going to do something else. Or he already had. "And when they don't do what I want, I make them regret it."

"Excuse me," the principal had heard that and did not like the sounds of it. No matter what Minamigawa's status, the principal, as an adult supposedly responsible for the well-being of all the students in Meiou High, could not stand back and let him speak in such a manner. "I think you're going a little overboard, officer—"

"See you later, Minamino," Minamigawa hissed, then shoved the door open behind me. I stumbled back into the hallway, trying to get out of reach. Oddly, he did not touch me again. With how furious he looked, I was certain he would attack me, even in front of the principal. It was not as if anyone else could stop him. But he just walked past me with a sinister giggle. He needed to work on his evil laughter. That sounded a little prissy.

Abruptly, my vision doubled. Startled, I staggered a step, trying to relocate my balance.

"Minamino?" Someone grabbed my arm. Worried it was Minamigawa, I yanked my arm away. That only served to send me tripping backwards. The principal, probably the one who had steadied me first, caught the front of my uniform and held tight. "Watch it, Minamino. Are you okay?"

If he could discount for the fact I was seeing four of him, then yes. I was fine.

And then I had to be down. On my knees. Because if I wasn't, then bad things were going to happen and I didn't want that. No, I didn't want that at all. But I couldn't bow because I wouldn't. I never bowed to anyone, and this was no different. It was worthless to fight it, but I had to. I was helpless and weak, my own delusions of grandeur having carried me far enough. It was done. My time was up. And it was just as well because Hiei would never want someone like me, who couldn't defend himself, who didn't give a damn about anyone, and who couldn't see past his own worthless existence long enough to consider anyone else's.

My head hurt. Really hurt. And it spread to my limbs and chest where it burned out everything in my body.

Someone was screaming. I think it was me, but I really could not be sure. There was a lot of shouting going on. Some of those voices definitely were not mine. And someone was pushing me down, pressing me to the floor. That was beyond tolerable. I could get away from that. Or I thought I could. I tried for awhile. Then more hands joined in, and I couldn't anymore.

It was hell. This is what hell looked like. And I stared at it forever. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I did not belong there. I wasn't ready. I needed to do so many things yet. I wanted another moment with my mother. It was the first I'd ever had a mother who actually cared. I had to see her.

Then I knew I didn't deserve it.

Hiei. Nothing had been resolved. He was still missing, and I had to find him. If he was off hurt and dying somewhere, then it was my fault for letting him go. I had to make him know I needed him. That I could not have him leaving at his convenience. Not until I told him.

But Hiei's fate was no longer my concern because I did not deserve him.

I had cheated death before. I could do it again. Life would return, better than ever. Although if I had to, I would die. I was not afraid of dying. With an immortal lifespan, years started to get long, and at times I would have welcomed it.

But even death was too good because I did not deserve release.

I did not deserve anything.

Ever.

* * *

Notes: Whew… a little dark there. Just goes to prove I can't make any story all comedic. Yes, it's a cliffhanger. What's the fun if every chapter winds up nice and clean? See you soon. 

Maeniel


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: See first chapter.

**Notes**: My computer crashed this weekend, and I lost everything on it. The only things that survived were those files I so brightly decided to back up on disk. And this chapter. I uploaded it to this site a couple days ago. Fortune smiled upon the final chapter of this little ditty. I hope people enjoy it.

**Chapter 7**

Death seemed the only escape from that hell. Or insanity. It was close, I could tell. Death and insanity. That was what caused it. I was reaching, snatching at the darkness, but just as it was in my grasp, it slipped through my fingers and I was back in the world.

The world was exactly where I did not want to be. There it was pain. There it was complete loss of control. Someone took it from me. Someone took it and gave it to everyone else. They yelled and tied me down and would not let me go. It was like when Hiei caged me, just with his arms. I could scream and beat at the restraints, but nothing broke them. I was trapped, staring through bars at life and unable to attain it. Death was at the other door, but I couldn't reach that either.

It circled.

Round and round and round and round and round and round.

Reach for escape. Scream for release.

Try in vain to sink into oblivion. Beat at the cage bars.

And around and around and around andaroundandaroundandaround…

* * *

The darkness broke. I almost did not notice. It came as warmth, spreading through my chest and into my arms and legs. It was not the fiery pit of before, but peaceful warmth. Intrigued, I sought out the source, but it seemed to be external. I tried to reach for it, but something held me back. Accepting that, I settled back and let it happen. Whatever this was, it was better than the never-ending spiral of madness. 

And then there were whispers. Familiar, yet not familiar. I heard them, saw someone I knew, but nothing said made sense. Frustration, then weary acceptance. I fell away.

Then, like someone throwing a brick through a glass window, it broke. The barrier holding me in shattered and fell like the glass shards of that window. I jumped, startled by the sudden leap to awareness, and stared blankly at the ceiling above me.

The ceiling was lined by bright lights. Confused, I blinked to clear my vision—how strange that my eyes had already been open—and looked around. It was an unfamiliar room. At least I knew that person in the chair by the wall. Head bowed in a light doze, he looked as though he had been sitting there for quite some time.

"Yu-yusuke?" The question came rasping and sore. I needed something to drink. But it brought the desired effect. His head snapped up, startled eyes turning to me.

"Kurama?" he asked uncertainly. As if he thought someone else would be speaking through my mouth. I smiled at that, tried to sit up, then noticed something a little upsetting.

There were restraints on the bed. Padded bindings held my arms and legs in place, rattling slightly when I tried to move. That was not good. I had been certain it was done. If this was just some hallucination—

"Hey, hold up." Yusuke was there in an instant, hands on my shoulders, gently pressing until I sank back against the pillow. I looked at him, demanding to know why this had been done. He smiled, but it was forced and filled with something dark, something haunted. "It's okay, Kurama. They had to do it. You were going crazy."

"I was," I agreed emphatically. I still wanted the restraints removed. "Yusuke…"

"Just settle down," he ordered. "Here." There was the distinct snap of leather and chains, and my legs were abruptly free. He freed my arms, and I lurched up, determined to be away from that prison. But Yusuke was immediately there, creating a new cage, his arms around me refusing to let me run. "Not so fast."

"Don't," I jerked against his grip uselessly. If fighting Hiei was a vain endeavor, fighting Yusuke was like a single ant taking on a brick wall. That wall would not be moved. "Don't don't don't…"

"It's okay, Kurama." He was hugging me. It's been awhile since anyone has hugged me. Not just that half hug, or a slap on the shoulder, but a full out embrace. And I thought maybe it was okay. Like Yusuke said, it would be fine. "You're okay here. We fixed it. You're okay now."

I believed him. Yusuke was many things, but a liar was not one of them. I relaxed until he deemed it fit to let me lay back again. He did so with caution, holding my shoulders and searching my face for signs of resistance. I shook my head, telling him I was okay. He sighed and sat back.

"Where am I?" I asked finally.

"Hospital," he answered. "Psych ward."

"Psych ward," I echoed dimly. "Now I'm crazy. What did I do?"

"You?" he smirked, then immediately scowled. "More like what was done to you. The doctors say that guy injected something into you." He touched my arm. It was bandaged and sore. "They don't know what it was, and they couldn't do anything about it, so they brought you here instead of ICU."

"I feel better now," I told him.

"Yeah," he looked relieved at that. "Yukina came and got the poison out of you."

"And the—" I glanced down at the restraints. They looked strange, even for what they were. It looked more like Medieval chains than a hospital restraining device. "Why?"

Yusuke knew what I was talking about. After a surreptitious glance to the restraints, he turned to me solemnly.

"They couldn't do anything," he explained. "We couldn't get you to calm down. You broke the normal restraints—nice display of otherworldly strength, by the way."

I groaned and closed my eyes.

"They're writing it off to extreme levels of adrenaline in the blood," he said. It sounded as if he was quoting someone. I sighed gratefully.

"They brought in the stuff they use at the zoo," he said wryly. "They held."

"I'm so happy for them," I muttered.

"You think?" Yusuke didn't laugh. He just looked at me, searching, maybe thinking this was only a reprieve. If it was, I would not be pleased. That would be a cruel joke.

"What?" I demanded. He grimaced and glanced at the restraints again.

"Yukina named it," he said. "We think it's the same stuff that Kitagawa guy had. But this guy injected it right into you."

"Minamigawa," I murmured.

"We're looking for him," Yusuke nodded. "So are the police. You scared the hell out of your entire school."

"What?" I didn't like that. I stood out enough without something like this hanging over me. And just as I thought I had averted the crisis connecting me to Kitagawa. "How do you mean?"

"Well, other than the fact you had a—what're they calling it?—a psychotic episode in front of the principal's office?" he asked. I stared at him. Surely not. Well, maybe, if I remembered correctly. But it could not have been that bad.

"Psychotic episode?" I echoed warily.

"Took five big guys to control you," Yusuke explained, equally uncomfortable with the topic. He winced and shook his head. "I thought you were dying on us with how you were screaming."

Like that girl in Kitagawa's house. I shifted uncomfortably, then shrugged and smiled weakly.

"Well, it's over now," I murmured. "Yukina fixed it."

"…Yeah." He was watching me still, probably afraid I would launch into another 'episode.'

"Yusuke, I'm fine," I assured him.

"Yeah," he said again. His hand found mine as he stood. Squeezing lightly, he smiled finally. "Yeah. I know."

"Good," I pushed myself up on the pillows. "So now I've just got to get the doctors to release me."

"Yeah," Yusuke said a final time. "But first I'll get your mom."

"My mom?" I asked blankly. Shiori was here?

"She's been here since you went nuts," Yusuke nodded. "Three days ago."

* * *

Yusuke was easy to convince compared to Shiori. Once she found out I was fine, she was by my side constantly. For awhile I was uncertain whether or not I would ever regain possession of my hand. It was rather embarrassing. Usually Shiori did not become involved when I had bad encounters with other youkai. I was fairly adept at the healing arts, at least when it came to helping myself, not to mention my accelerated healing rate. To try to explain away this attack was impossible, so I just played dumb. No, I didn't know who the guy was. He must have been some sick man who fixated on a random person over his loss, and he happened to take it out on me. That was the theory the police had, so I went with it. 

They wouldn't let me leave that night. The recovery had been too swift, and they wanted to keep me for observation. Toward the end of visiting hours, Yukina stopped in and, to Shiori's eyes, held my hand for awhile and cheerfully asked how I was feeling. Better than ever, I told her, which was close to true. With her soft healing power coursing through me, it felt as though I was floating on cloud nine. She only stayed a few minutes, but I felt well enough to be up and about for awhile. That is, I felt well enough until I saw the other people who shared the unit. After that, I hid in my room, grateful I was not one of _them_.

The next day, Shiori kept me from school. I was a little annoyed at missing so much class, but she was worried about how well I would be reintegrated into a classroom setting. Something about possible overload after such a stressful event. No doubt it was a doctor's recommendation.

Despite my frustration, it was fun. Hatanaka took the day off, pulled Shuichi from school, and took us all out. We drove into the city, had lunch at a nice restaurant and went shopping. Shuichi got a new video game, I picked up some books and poked through the jewelry shop with Shiori. There was an interesting moment when the sales clerk was pushing Hatanaka to purchase a ring for well over its worth. Some creative maneuvering (and a suggestion that Shiori would hate it) got him away from that little scam. I glared at the clerk, who probably wondered why some teenage boy had it in for her, and guided him to a better display. Shiori got a nice set of earrings that day.

I was still glad to be home that night. For all the activities we did, all the walking, and the occasional bout of roughhousing with Shuichi, they treated me like an invalid. Somewhere along the lines, I think Shuichi was scolded for the playful shove (nearly into a rather well-endowed young woman) which had me chasing him across the park threatening him (not seriously, of course). After that, if he forgot himself and poked at me as he was prone to do, he immediately skittered away at a look from Hatanaka. For the fairly active life I was accustomed to leading, I was irritated with the numerous times the questions, "How are you feeling?" and "Would you like to stop and rest?" came into the conversation that day.

After warding off my mother's offers to draw me a bath and Hatanaka's offer of a nighttime tea, I thanked them for a lovely day and retreated to my room. Just to spite their cautions, I did give Shuichi's head a rough push when I bounded up the stairs past him. He followed me, shouting, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scuffle we had before Hatanaka yelled at us to settle down.

Then it was night, and everyone was asleep. In pajamas, on the bed, I pushed the window open and let the cool air wash into the room. It was still a bit of a shock to think that three days had passed without my knowledge. From what I was told, most of it was spent in a semi-wakeful state. The doctors had been baffled when I finally dropped into sleep on the third day. They assumed exhaustion had taken its toll, and that I had fainted. In actuality, I believe I did pass out, but it was not until Yukina worked her magic that I was able to accomplish that. It was right after that healing warmth filled me that I was able to rest. So to give credit where credit was due, without Yukina, I probably would still be in the hospital psychiatric unit. I would have to send her some flowers in gratitude.

He came silently and suddenly, as was his wont. Though weary from the day, I was awake, leaning on the window sill and admiring the night. My eyes were drawn to the additional shadow in the cherry blossom tree which grew near the fence. Its branches spread to the house, one of them near my window, which was how he usually gained such easy access to my room.

"Hiei…"

Pulling back to allow him room to enter, I sat cross-legged on the bed and watched him. He slipped in like a wraith and took up post at the foot of my bed.

"Kurama," he said simply. We studied each other for awhile, silently. Until he finally shifted forward and, shockingly, held a hand to my face. I watched him uncertainly, and he smirked. "Let's go hunting."

That brought a grin to my face.

"Yes," I agreed, and shot to my closet for some fighting clothes.

* * *

The school looked like a prison at night. Lights out, gates locked, it could have been some penitentiary as opposed to the learning center it was in daylight hours. I could understand how some kids were intimidated. But at the moment, it was just another building. It was our starting point, to be more precise. We would not even have to breach the gates. 

Not entirely, anyway. We crouched atop the brick portion of the fence, eyes sweeping the surrounding neighborhood.

"The detective said you had a name," Hiei said, setting us into a familiar pattern of curt conversation.

"Minamigawa."

"The humans knew and could not locate him," Hiei said.

I nodded, knowing Hiei had heard all of this from Yusuke already. And he accused me of being to talkative. When it came to conversation, he was terrible, but in situations like this, he was downright chatty.

"What am I looking for?" he asked finally.

"Kitagawa."

There was a brief surge of alarm from him, his head whipping around to stare at me.

"Kitagawa is dead," he firmly stated.

"He's the same." I looked at him, willing him comprehension. The same, as in soon they would both be mere memories. "Why differentiate?"

"Hn." If possible, Hiei's expression became more grim. He pulled the ward from over his third eye and turned toward the city.

I waited. Sweeping slowly in a circle, Hiei searched. His own power crackled around us, a defensive embrace of fathomless heat wrapping about us. I gathered it close, as if I could physically hold it in my hands, and kept it. Hiei did not mind or he never would have allowed the action. That he was flooding the immediate area with so much youki was indication enough that he knew I needed it. My own power was yet weakened, having battered itself into submission in my recent descent into hopelessness. It would be weeks before I could force it back to where it needed to safely be. And Hiei's endless electric power barely missed what I took.

"Found him."

He tied off the bandanna and leapt from the wall. The chase was on. Aware of my human limitations, Hiei matched my pace, remaining close enough that I could sense and follow him. We ran for miles, testament of just how powerful the Jagan is. Hiei could spot a demon the size of a beetle three miles away. Assuming that beetle-sized bugger had enough youki to register. Minamigawa was not the most powerful of demons, barely topping out at a low C-Class, but it was plenty for Hiei to locate.

We came upon him just outside of town. He was walking alongside a brook, stopping at intervals to throw rocks into the current. The stream drained into an enclosed everglade a short distance down, which seemed to be his destination. Hiei looked and nodded. It was safe—probably why Minamigawa was headed there in the first place. We waited for him.

He really was just like Kitagawa. He was plain and painfully average, and for as intimidating as he had been in a setting where I was unable to fight back, he did not look half as scary in this isolated marsh. To give him some benefit of a doubt, he did notice us before he was close enough to step on our feet. He was in range of my rose whip, however.

"Who's there?" he demanded gruffly.

I smirked. This was going to be good. Hiei nodded when I touched his shoulder, and he stood back as I took the stage. It was rather satisfying to see Minamigawa's eyes bug out when he saw me.

"You!" he blurted. "You're—Minamino!"

Circling him slowly, I took in every aspect of him. He really was not very impressive. He had had the advantage before, pushing me into a situation where I had an enormous handicap, but here we were on equal footing. Except for the fact that I could kill him before he ever raised a hand to plead for his life.

"Y-y-you—!" he stammered incredulously. He was terrified. It was so strong I could smell it. "You should be brain-dead by now!"

Had I been a normal, weak human being, I might have been. In fact, a normal human probably would not have lasted a day, let alone three. A demon's powers of resistance and regeneration were what allowed slavers to utilize the pheromone in subduing their victims. Otherwise there would be a lot of dead slaves out there. (Not that there were not already, but this was pretty fast-acting.) However, this declaration of his told me he was not half as informed as he should have been.

"Pity I'm not," I said softly. "If you had done your job properly, you might yet live to see another day."

"That's impossible!" he yelped, staggering back when I took a step forward. "You—how did you—?"

I had yet caught no scent of the pheromone. That was very interesting. Was it that he was incapable of releasing it as an airborne element? More than likely he was only capable of using it through direct contact. It was a rare peculiarity in his kind, and how fortunate for me that this was the case.

"Was he your brother?" I asked finally. "Cousin?" That made him mad. Not mad enough to actually attack me, but it was a start.

"Kita was my brother!" he growled. "And you killed him!"

"No, someone else did," I countered. "Actually, you screwed up pretty badly."

"You were there!" Minamigawa insisted. "I saw you!"

I lifted my eyebrows askance. That was impossible. We would have noticed if he was there. Kuwabara would have felt him. Or Hiei.

"I saw the video!" he continued angrily. My skepticism was quickly replaced by frank shock. _Video_? Had that sick bastard actually set up a device to record whatever he was planning to do to that poor girl? "The girl was in it, and you." He jabbed his finger through the air at me. Voice shrill, he said, "If it wasn't you, then it was the girl, and I took care of her too!"

Behind me, Hiei raged silently. I could feel his anger at that declaration just as sure as I felt my own. This monster had just admitted to killing an innocent human girl.

"She had nothing to do with it," I murmured. So furious was I that I was incapable of speaking louder than that.

"You were the only two!" Minamigawa hollered. "The only two!"

His protests were nothing to me. Shoving away the anger, knowing it would blind me to possible attacks, I reached for a rose seed. Crushing the blossom in my hand, I pushed some youki into the petals and watched them hover just barely above my palm. He saw it as well, and judging by his paling face, he was starting to realize his own mistake.

"Tell me, Filth: What do you know about suffering?" He was beyond frightened. His legs trembled visibly, and the front of his pants darkened. It was fitting that his end be so undignified for what he had done.

"You… you're not human," he moaned.

"A lot of people make that mistake," I said. I let the petals go, and they flew forward as though drawn to his fear.

Minamigawa's screams did not bother me one bit.

* * *

Minamigawa was recorded as a missing fugitive, charged with murder and attempted murder. It bothered me that we didn't save that girl in the end, but I had the grim satisfaction of seeing him reduced to the weak, sniveling bastard that he was. Hiei was the perfect companion for the gruesome task of killing Minamigawa. Kuwabara and Yusuke only ever stared at me in utter horror when they saw me behave like that. Hiei knew what it was like. He understood why I did what I did. Kuwabara and Yusuke never understood. 

Sometimes they forgot. I was good at being human. I had been living as such for nearly eighteen years, so why shouldn't I have been? But eighteen years could not wipe out a millennium of demonic existence. As much as I loved my family and friends, it was difficult to overcome the darker aspects of the soul.

And quite honestly, I did not want to.

A week later, I met Hiei. Rather, he showed up of his own accord, crouching in my open window and looking down at me in amusement.

"Rough day?" he asked, drawing attention to my bone-weary sprawl. On my back on my bed, I had been staring blankly at the ceiling, pretending the world did not exist.

"Long week," I replied. Which it had been. Missing four days of school was not something I recommended. I had a ton of makeup work. Then, there was the parade of worried classmates and teachers lining up to be certain I would not shatter at a touch. At least there were no bullies to taunt me over my apparent screaming fit in the hallway of the school. Or if there were, I had set up enough of an intimidation factor over the years that they no longer picked on me.

"The detective said you were looking for me," he remarked. He slipped into the room, glanced around for a hesitant moment, then went and sat in my desk chair. I seem to recall being the one sitting in the chair while he sat on the bed last time. "Before."

I looked at him, surprised he had brought it up. This mess with Kitagawa and Minamigawa was a perfect excuse to go back to how everything had been. We could easily pretend nothing had happened between us. Or that somehow it had been a bizarre side effect of the demons' powers.

He was watching me. That startled me as much as his words. Previous encounters suggested he would stare off into the distance at some unknown point rather than at me. But he was defying this logic.

"I was," I said eventually. Even then, I could not say what should have been said. It just was not that easy. "You left your book."

"It was useless anyway," he said, and we both smirked, though it was an uncomfortable situation. "You spent all night looking for me to give me a book?"

It sounded so ridiculous when he put it like that.

"…No," I mumbled. He was still looking at me, so I gave in and averted my eyes. I watched the sky slowly fill with gray white clouds. "I never wanted you to leave."

"So you've figured out what you want?" he asked boldly.

"No."

He scoffed, and I was tempted to throw my pillow at him. Instead, I glared at him heatedly.

"What did you expect, Hiei?" I demanded. "A declaration of my undying devotion? How about I like you well enough? Does that suit you?"

"You're getting temperamental," Hiei observed. I bit back an irritated retort. Sucking in a deep and, hopefully, calming breath, I turned my eyes back to stare out the window. Hiei remained where he was, only rocking the chair slightly on its back legs. It was probably a good thing that he had not moved yet. "What's the matter, Kurama? I thought you were cool in any situation."

"Everyone has a breaking point," I replied quietly. That had not been what I intended to say, but once out the statement could not be retracted. If anything, at least Hiei seemed to approve.

"I've seen yours, fox."

Those were not words anyone liked to hear. Not anyone I knew. And I certainly did not care for it. It left me feeling intensely uncomfortable. Truly, Hiei had seen my weaknesses, just as I had seen his. But a weakness was not the same as a breaking point. One might argue that I knew _his_ breaking point, but in reality all I knew was where to place some pressure. Actually undertaking that task would end up with Hiei either breaking or killing me. It was not worth much thought since I knew I would never stoop to such levels of treachery.

Somehow I ended up on my side. My back was to Hiei, which went against every instinct I ever had. But I trusted him, so I just sighed and closed my eyes. He did know, which made it that much more disturbing. How do you look anyone in the eye when they have that kind of knowledge? Only defiance worked, but I was not feeling particularly daring after that solemn and painfully sincere response.

"That's why you can't answer the question, isn't it?" he asked after awhile. I tensed, not liking the sound of that. He laughed softly. I was so glad to be the source for his amusement. "That's the only thing I've seen you fear."

Maybe if I stayed very still and did not answer, he would think I left. Yeah. That could work. In a dreamscape.

"I won't let it happen again." Laughter apparently forgotten, he sounded completely sober. A hand fell on my shoulder, and I jumped. I had not heard him approach. "No one has the ability to control you, Kurama. Not ever."

"Isn't that what you want?" Even as the question was voiced, I flinched. It sounded pretty pathetic once said aloud.

"You're the one person I can't control, fox." His fingers curled around mine, and I instinctively grasped his hand. Realization brought a flush of heat to my face, but I didn't let go. "That's why I want you as opposed to the detective."

That made me laugh. The image of Hiei holding Yusuke's hand would not come. At least, not in any scene that had the pair of them looking content. I could easily picture Yusuke dragging a snarling Hiei around, all the while snickering at his own ability to drive Hiei up the wall. Still, one had to tease.

"Are you sure it's not just my good looks?" I murmured. Hiei was bent over the bed, trying to meet my eyes, so I humored him and looked up. He was smirking.

"It doesn't hurt," he muttered. Then he fixed an uncompromising stare on me and asked, "What do you want?"

"I want you to stay."

"Good enough," he decided. With some interesting maneuvers, and one less-than-graceful flop, he took up post with his back to the wall. It put him noticeably close to me, but then that worked better while he held my hand between his, clasped loosely on his lap. I would have hated to be forced to reach. He grinned suddenly, showing me sharper than human teeth. "So will you return that chapter you tore out of my book?"

"I think you've got to work a little harder before you even get to think about that," I said wryly.

"I thought that fourth position was particularly intriguing."

Wow. _That_ brought a rather erotic thought forth. I groaned and closed my eyes.

"Hiei."

"You were the one who was open to casual sex," he calmly reminded me.

"But that's without strings," I protested. "When there are strings, it gets messy. You get tangled up."

"Maybe I don't mind the thought of being tangled up with you."

"I think a lot of people don't mind that thought," I retorted with a cheeky grin.

He blinked dumbly for a moment. Then, he scowled at me.

"You're vain!" he accused. I continued to grin. This was just too fun.

"Is that a problem?"

He considered me for a long minute. His eyes traveled to our hands, linked together, then raked down to my feet and back to my face. Then, his gaze shifted very slightly, enough so he wasn't looking at me and yet was. The expression he wore was alarmingly predatory.

"Hiei?" I asked warily.

His teeth were starting to show again. His lips curled up in the barest hint of a smile.

"Hiei." The warning was as clear as I could make it.

He reached forward. Concerned as to his intentions, I scrambled back, but my hand was still caught in his. And the other hand came to a rest atop my skull.

"Hiei…"

With a sudden flurry of movement, he pressed his hand down and proceeded to make a terrible mess of my hair.

"Ack! _Hiei!_" Though I tumbled off the bed and hit the floor, Hiei followed, along with my pillow and a tangle of sheet. "Hiei, stop it!" Which, of course, he didn't. I don't know why but it didn't surprise me that he showed this sadistically playful side. Maybe it was the 'sadistic' part to that equation. "_HIEI!_"

He pulled back, abruptly finished, and smirked triumphantly. A little dazed, I sat up and touched my head with a grimace. That would take ages to brush out.

"It looks good," he remarked.

"The hell it does," I groaned. It probably looked like the Bride of Frankenstein on a bad day.

"You let me kiss you, I'll brush it for you."

That one stunned me into complete silence. I gaped at him, not quite reconciling the words with the mouth from which they had come. And dumbly, I found myself nodding.

Hiei smirked and leaned forward. And just as his face drew too close to possibly be ignored, he said:

"Vanity at its best."

I punched him full in the face.

* * *

**Final notes:** This is the first time I've ever tried to write a story which is pretty much focused on romance. Which, of course, I managed to do without any citrus whatsoever. Yes, there was all this stuff with the demons going down, but I only put that in because I could not make myself write something that was pure sap and romance. It gets cliché and boring (to me anyway). So back to the point—the song title. 

A couple people pointed out that my title doesn't make much sense, but I wasn't going by the song title, I was going by the lyrics of the song. Namely, the chorus. Which is:

**Chorus 1**

Ma, he's making eyes at me,

Ma, he's awful nice to me,

Ma, he's almost breaking my heart,

I'm beside him, mercy let his conscience guide him;

Ma, he wants to marry me,

Be my honey bee,

Ev'ry minute he gets bolder,

Now he's leaning on my shoulder,

Ma, he's kissing me!

**Chorus 2**

Ma, he's making eyes at me,

Ma, he's awful nice to me,

Ma, he's almost breaking my heart,

If you peek in, can't you see I'm goin' to weaken,

Ma, he wants to marry me,

Be my honey bee,

Ma I'm meeting with resistance,

I shall holler for assistance,

Ma, he's kissing me!

---It's a song from the early twentieth century (The 1920s if I'm not mistaken), and I first heard it while involved in a high school production of _Dirty Work at the Crossroads_. The concept of Kurama freaking out over all these weird things Hiei is trying to get across to him just amused me. Then I added the parts with Kurama's mother listening to his complaints, thus this story came into being. I hope it was enjoyable. I had fun writing it. The entire song is as follows:

_Ma, He's Makin' Eyes at Me_

**Verse 1**

Little Lilly was oh so silly and shy,

And all the fellows knew,

She wouldn't bill and coo,

Ev'ry single night some smart fellow would try,

To cuddle up to her,

But she would cry:

**Verse 2**

Lilly was so good, every body could tell,

You'd never see her roam,

She'd always stay at home,

All the neighbors knew Little Lilly too well,

For when the boys would call,

They'd hear her yell:

**Chorus 1**

Ma, he's making eyes at me,

Ma, he's awful nice to me,

Ma, he's almost breaking my heart,

I'm beside him, mercy let his conscience guide him;

Ma, he wants to marry me,

Be my honey bee,

Ev'ry minute he gets bolder,

Now he's leaning on my shoulder,

Ma, he's kissing me!

**Chorus 2**

Ma, he's making eyes at me,

Ma, he's awful nice to me,

Ma, he's almost breaking my heart,

If you peek in, can't you see I'm goin' to weaken,

Ma, he wants to marry me,

Be my honey bee,

Ma I'm meeting with resistance,

I shall holler for assistance,

Ma, he's kissing me!


End file.
